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Concrete Poetry

Very hard poetry!! <-- poor attempt to get a smile :-)

Poetry in which the visual appearance is part of the meaning. The poem text itself forms a visible picture on the page.

Shape is one of the things that separates prose and poetry. Poetry can take on many formats, but one of the most inventive forms is for the poem to take on the shape of its subject. So if the subject of your poem is a tree, then the poem would be shaped like a tree.

Example

YPDC CHRISTMAS TREE

By Jenni Kalicharan

*
I
am
very
happy
whenever
Christmas
comes around
cuz to me, it's a time
to love, share, to give.
to spend time with loved ones
to give of my time to elderly folks
even more than I do all year round.
I love seeing the kids with eager eyes,
wondering
what lies
beneath
their
Christmas tree.

Copyright © Jenni Kalicharan 2001