Four Acrostic Poems About Discrimination
February 4th 2008 11:39
Acrostic Poetry: A Potentially Powerful Art Form
Acrostic poetry is an unusual poetic form, yet one that holds great potential for conveying the poet's ideas in a particularly compact way. By the same token, when its words are chosen carefully and wisely, an acrostic poem can present its message with real impact.
A while back, I participated in an exercise in acrostic poetry in which I wrote four different poems, all of which were built from and based on the word "discrimination." It was a fascinating philosophical exercise as well as an interesting study in choosing and using the right words to convey an idea when word choices are limited not only by the intended thought but also by the list of appropriate words a given poet can devise which contain the correct initial letter. It can be a challenge--though a very intriguing one!
My four poems follow a brief topical introduction, in modified Q&A form. Perhaps these samples of acrostic poetry will inspire you to attempt this form if you haven't before or revisit it if you have.
First, A Few Thought-Provoking Questions & Answers
Why do people use stereotypes?
People stereotype because it's neat, tidy, and simple, because it requires little thought, because it confirms their personal prejudices, and most importantly, because it doesn't require them to get to know the person in question as an individual.
Why do people judge others? Do they think theyâre perfect?
People judge others precisely because they themselves aren't perfect. If they were, they wouldn't.
Next, A Few Thought-Provoking Acrostic Poems
I felt that the following exercise in acrostic poetry yielded some powerful ideas; so I thought I'd share these four poems here. These were a few of my thoughts on discrimination, with each line of each poem consisting of one word which starts with a different letter from the word "discrimination." A very fascinating poetic form, since so much meaning must be packed into so few words! (You'll note that my first attempt was a bit more abstract and somewhat obscure; whereas the others were more precisely focused on the topic.)
Desperately
I
Sit,
Cultivating
Random
Imaginings,
Mental
Illusions
Noiselessly
Answering
Trembling
Impressions
Of
Nothingness.
Direct
Insults
Separate
Closely
Related
Individuals,
Ministering
Instability,
Negativity,
And
Tension,
Instead
Of
Nobility.
Deliberately
Insisting
Someone
Cannot
Really
Inherently
Meet
Individual
Notions,
"Acceptable"
Targeting
Infiltrates
Our
Nature.
Dangerous
Illusions
Sabotage
Carefully
Reasoned
Ideas,
Meandering
Intrusively
Nearby,
As
Truth
Is
Obligingly
Negated.
Why Not Give Acrostic Poetry a Try?
Of course, acrostic poetry doesn't require such a negative or dramatic topic. This was simply the exercise I chose to work on at the time, since it had been presented on a website I was visiting. Should you decide to try it, feel free to change the topic, if you like--that is unless you'd enjoy the challenge of trying your hand at this one.
Pensively,
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Ever try your hand at acrostic poetry? Would you like to? What do you think of this poetic form? Please feel free to share your thoughts!
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