Poem examples to accompany poetry unit vocabulary

1. Types of Poems

2. Format of a Limerick
• A five line poem with a rhyme scheme of
aabba.
• Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with each other, and
lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other.

3. Limerick Example
There was a young boy from Caboo, (a)
Who had trouble tying his shoe. (a)
He said to his ox, (b)
"I'll just walk in my socks." (b)
Now all of his friends do that, too! (a)

4. Couplet
• A two line poem where the two lines rhyme.
• Example:
Hey diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle

5. Alliteration Poem
• A Two-Word Name – Big Bobby
• An Action – bought
• An Adjective – brown
• An Item – bears
Example:
• Big Bobby bought brown bears.
• Brown bears Big Bobby bought.
• If Big Bobby bought brown bears,
• How many brown bears did Big Bobby buy?

6. The Feeling Poem Format
Line one: Name an emotion
Line two: “Smells like. . .”
Line three: “Tastes like. . .”
Line four: “Sounds like. . .”
Line five: “Feels like. . . .”
Line six: “Feels like. . .”
Line seven: “Feels like. . .”
Line eight: Name the emotion

7. The Feeling Poem Example
Fear
Smells like the skin of burnt marshmallows, smells like
burning hair,
Tastes like chalk and Robitussin and vinegar,
Sounds like thunder one-one-thousand-BOOM away,
Feels like numbed cold fingers,
Feels like pressure inside my lungs,
Feels like my body’s not my body, make my body
disappear,
Fear

8. Haiku Format
• A three line poem
– 1st and 3rd lines contain exactly five syllables
– 2nd line contains exactly seven syllables
• Usually about nature
• Free verse (does not rhyme)

9. Haiku Examples
Silent fog creeping
Out of the October night
Smothering the world
The glistening sea
Glowing moon in the night sky
Reflects on water

10. Diamante
• Poems that begin with one subject and end
with another, totally different or opposite
subject (7 lines total)

11. Diamante Format
Line 1: A noun (Subject 1)
Line 2: Two adjectives describing subject 1
Line 3: Three –ing words about subject 1
Line 4: Four nouns: two related to subject
1 and
two related to subject 2
Line 5: Three –ing words telling about
subject 2
Line 6: Two adjectives describing subject 2
Line 7: A noun (Subject 2)
Cat/Dog
Day/Night
Up/Down
Life/Death
Vampire/Zombie
Cold/Hot
Spring/Fall
Smart/Dumb
Boy/Girl
Sun/Rain

12. Diamante Examples
Baby
Cuddly, helpless
Crawling, crying, playing
Playpen, blocks, family, career
Working, laughing, driving
Confident, independent
Adult

13. Student – Teacher Diamante
Student
Smart, thinker
Learning, studying, working
School, bus, car, office
Helping, teaching, laughing
Smart, awesome
Teacher

14. Student – Teacher Example
Student
Young, reckless
Complaining, texting, hard-working
School, detention, boss, adult
Boring, aging, teaching
Smart, cool
Teacher

15. Opposites
• Cat/Dog
• Day/Night
• Up/Down
• Life/Death
• Vampire/Zombie
• Cold/Hot
• Spring/Fall
• Smart/Dumb
• Boy/Girl

16. Acrostic Poem
• Uses the letters of a
topic word as the
first letter for each
line of the poem.
• Each line includes
words and phrases
related to the topic.
• Usually does not
rhyme

17. Sensory Poems
• Poems that use words related to sight, sound,
smell, taste, and touch to provide specific
images for the reader.

18. Sensory Poems Example
Fresh-Baked Bread
I watched hungrily as my mother opens the oven
To check the progress of the bread.
My eyes devour the lightly browned crust.
The mouthwatering aroma drifts across the kitchen.
The delicious fragrance sneaks silently
Past my nose into my brain.
My tongue searches for a taste.
My empty stomach shouts,
“Eat! Eat! Eat!”
Mother says, “A few more minutes.”

19. Cinquain Format
• A cinquain is a five-line poem that does not
rhyme.
Line 1: A noun
Line 2: Two adjectives to describe the noun
Line 3: Three action words ending in -ing
Line 4: A short statement about the topic
Line 5: A noun that is a synonym for line 1

20. Cinquain Example
Memories
Photographs
Old, faded,
Cracking, curling, yellowing
Reminders of the past
Memories

21. Concrete Poem
• Poetry that forms the shape of its subject or
theme
• Example:

22. Narrative Poem
• A narrative poem tells a story.
• They can be long or short.
• Some narrative poems use end rhyme, some do not.
• Example:
The Greedy Dog
There once was a dog filled with greed
Who wanted much more than he’s need.
When he saw his reflection
Upon further inspection
He ended with nothing, indeed.

23. A Change Poem
• A change poem chronicles the change process
of a being or concept.
• It is usually one sentence written one word on
each line.
• The poem has a surprising change at the end
to complete the form.

24. Change Poem Example
Dairy
The
farmer
squeezed
the
milk
out
of
the
cow
into
my
cup.

25. Concrete Poems
• Concrete poems form the shape of its subject.
• Example: