Lining a Poem
Lining a poem refers to when you stop writing on one line and go on to the next. When you are writing paragraphs, you start writing on a new line when you run out of room on your paper, but lining a poem can get tricky.
These lines give your reader a break and help them digest your ideas. Consider keeping one idea to line, breaking it if it appears too long.
Sometimes poets will give one word or a short phrase a stand-alone line to draw attention to it and emphasize an idea, just like writers use short, choppy sentences.
Breaking your poem into stanzas, or chunks, helps your reader see how the ideas in it are connected, similar to paragraphs in writing.
These lines give your reader a break and help them digest your ideas. Consider keeping one idea to line, breaking it if it appears too long.
Sometimes poets will give one word or a short phrase a stand-alone line to draw attention to it and emphasize an idea, just like writers use short, choppy sentences.
Breaking your poem into stanzas, or chunks, helps your reader see how the ideas in it are connected, similar to paragraphs in writing.
Read the poems to the right.
The author chose to deliberately right-align the poem, even though most poems are left-aligned. Look also at the bolded words at the end of each line--what do you notice? Hint: Read the bolded words from the top to the bottom. |
Truth by Nikki Grimes The truth is, every day we rise is like thunder -- a clap of surprise. Could be echoes of trouble, or blossoms of blessing. You never know what garish or gorgeously disguised memories-to-be might rain down from above. So, look up! Claim that cloud with the silver lining. Our job, if you ask me, is to follow it. See where it heads. David's Old Soul by Nikki Grimes As far back as I can remember, my mother has called me “an old soul.” I never understood. But now that our family has dwindled to just Mom and us kids, I’ve grown into a man. You do what you have to. “David, dig deep,” is the whisper in my ear. So I stand strong like a tree my baby brothers can lean on. I try to be the raft that helps carry them over this life’s rough rivers. |
Practice
Read the poem, "400-Meter Free Style", a poem about a swimmer in a race, and think about the questions below:
1. Why do you think the author lined his poem this way? What was he trying to get the reader to think about? 2. How does the lining impact the reader? |
Take a look at Mary Oliver's poem about a crocodile--her use of indentations almost makes her stanzas look like teeth or the ridged back of the crocodile.
More Practice
Read the poem below and think about where you would use line breaks and stanza breaks:
“My Father’s Hands”
Stained permanently brown like the earth you like to turn, like the wood you like to work, like the eyes of your children. Perpetually cracked and worn from exposure to the wind, from the cold and from the sun, from the constant work you do. Years of dust and dirt embedded so far deep into the cracks, so far beneath the surface, so far from describing you. With an iron vise-like grip just right for pounding nails, just right for fixing pipes, just right for pinching bad kids. And yet surprisingly soft for cleansing and tending cuts, for cutting and combing hair, for loving your family.
“My Father’s Hands”
Stained permanently brown like the earth you like to turn, like the wood you like to work, like the eyes of your children. Perpetually cracked and worn from exposure to the wind, from the cold and from the sun, from the constant work you do. Years of dust and dirt embedded so far deep into the cracks, so far beneath the surface, so far from describing you. With an iron vise-like grip just right for pounding nails, just right for fixing pipes, just right for pinching bad kids. And yet surprisingly soft for cleansing and tending cuts, for cutting and combing hair, for loving your family.
More examples:
“Homeless”
Pelting rain slapping at the windshield, obscuring the road forcing me to slow to a crawl. Rapid wipers slashing back and forth. Too late. Too late. Too late they seemed to say with each motion. No hope. No hope. No hope They mocked as I frantically dashed to the store for tarps to cover my roof or rather, the roof I removed in the torrential rain pour. Sigh. |
I wrote the poem "Homeless" after we decided to put a new roof on our house; unfortunately, as soon as we took off the shingles, an unpredicted torrential rain storm hit. Needless to say, it was a scary time, and I felt helpless and hopeless while I was driving to the store for additional tarps.
To create the helpless, hopeless tone, I made the following craft choices: -personification: I personified the windshield wipers to pretend they were mocking me, telling me that there wasn't hope. -repetition of short lines: I wanted to emphasize the idea that there was no hope because I was too late, so I repeated the lines "Too late" and "No hope" three times for emphasis. I put them each on a line by themselves to give them greater power and emphasis. I put the word "Sigh" on a line by itself at the end to conclude the poem with a sense of frustration, irritation, and helplessness. |