Freeing Your Words Through Free Verse Poetry

Very few things remain constant in this modern day and age. To survive, one must learn to play along the rules of the new setting. Sink or swim. Evolve or dissolve. And thus, language, and even poetry, had to evolve as well.

When one thinks of conventional poems, sometimes we are intimidated by its strict rules. Thoughts like, it isn’t a poem if it does not have a set and uniform number of stanzas, verses, meters and lines, “Stick to iambic pentameter throughout, no shifting to a haiku in the last part!”. And of course there should be the unmistakable and unmissable mastery of marrying words for the perfect rhyme and rhythm. Thus, these intimidating rules of conventional poetry might have discouraged some to write their masterpieces.

But rejoice! For most modern readers and writers

seem to favor something more fluid and free,

also called the free verse poetry.

It isn’t because today’s poets are less creative with words, nor that we prefer the easy route of free verse; nor do the readers who love free verse prefer less sophisticated forms of poetry. I believe it is the sheer beauty in the simplicity of the free verse that enamors it to poets and readers alike. I would even argue further, that it takes more skill as well to create lines, beautiful and buttery smooth, using the simplest of words. Without the embellishments of the form, the words themselves deliver the message clear and concise, in naked clarity.  

So let me indulge you, my dear reader, with three types of free verse and some tips on writing free verse poetry. And I hope that by the end of this, your enchanting poems shall grace our Launchora community too!

The General Rules: How To Make a Good Free Verse?

 Identify and focus on a subject.

What do you want to write about? Is it a person, a feeling, a phenomenon, other things? Whatever it is, focus and think about it. Gather the facets of what you wanted to write about. And write out a few words or lines that highlight or best describes your topic of choice.

Choose, compose, and combine.

 Once you’ve focused on a few aspects you would write about, choose the words, then marry lines and sentences together. One good rule is to play it by ear. Read out the lines you wrote, and listen if they sound well together. Is there an awkward word there, or too much repetition of it? Re-reading and editing will perfect your composition. Furthermore, the words don’t always have to be big or complex, even the simplest of words can make the most beautiful poems when composed flawlessly. Just remember to choose words that best fit the overall style and tone of the poem.

Use some stylistic literary devices.

 A few fancy phrases with alliteration make stellar sentences with style and sophistication!

A little rhyming also won’t hurt, it can give your poems more worth!

Envision the Form and Layout.

You may go by the conventional ways of writing a poem wherein everything is flushed or aligned left, center or right. This is free verse, and even the layout is free! Play with the form and be creative if you’re feeling it! Word presentation itself may be part of your poetry.

For an example of free layouting, check out my other poem “The Gravitational Equation of Falling In Love” exemplifying word art.

And the most important piece of advice: Let those words out!

 Let that message be heard, that poem be read, that artistry be appreciated! Arrange the words like puzzle pieces. BE UNIQUE, BE YOU, BE HEARD! Write now!

Types of Modern Free Verse

So now that we have some idea how to do free verse, what now are some of the modern types of free verse that we can try?

The Spoken Word

            The spoken word is basically a performed free verse, where the artist performs their work themselves. You can see an example of this on “Listen” right here on Launchora (my Listen story is called “’Til the Internet Connection Do Us Part” and it’s also published in the Fall issue of The Storyteller so do check both of those out!). Those are spoken word in essence. We can say it is the marriage of poetry and live entertainment and it has taken the internet by storm since 2010s, thanks to some of the most talented and eloquent spoken word poets out there. Let me indulge you with one of my favorite examples:

Check this out: Neil Hilborn, "OCD" (Rustbelt, 2013) via Button Poetry Channel)

What is once normal poetry on paper becomes more vivid when performed with the tone, the ministrations, delivery and diction of the poet. So if you can control your nerves well, then from simply poetry writing, eventually you may do poetry reading, and then spoken word!  Who knows, you might be the next big spoken word artist to take the stage and be an internet sensation!

The Micropoetry

A poem of but a few lines, gracing Tumblr feeds, Facebook posts.

for even the fewest words, can hurt just as much.

You may be familiar with Micropoetry, and have probably come across it in your social media feeds from time to time.  Its other names are “Twihaiku” (Twitter haiku) or Tumblr poetry. These are categorically poems that are short enough to be microblogged as tweets or Tumblr posts.

The basic rule for micropoems is keep it short and concise! The best  practice is to just focus on a snippet of thought regarding a topic. The popular poet Lang Leav, mostly does beautiful, heart-wrenching Micropoetry.

Examples from Lang Leav:

1. What was it like to lose him?

It was like hearing every goodbye ever said to me – all at once.

2. Xs & Os

Love is a game

            Of tic-tac-toe,

            Constantly waiting for the next x or o. “

Aside from purely words, another evolution to Micropoetry is coupling it with pictures, elevating its artistry. The pictures and words complement each other and present the message together. 

‘Stream of Thought’ or ‘Stream of Consciousness’ Poetry

This is free verse in its rawest, most unfiltered form. It emulates the way one thinks in solitude, a constant stream of self-monologue without inhibitions. Some literary and grammar purists might label this style as mere “run-on” sentences due to the sparse usage of sentence punctuation marks and the presence of multiple sentences in a line. But the results can be breathtakingly pure emotion too! The danger though in “streaming” or “stream of thought poetry” is the possibility of getting lost with the words or leaving out coherence. Exercise some form of control. Unleash the words, but recheck and edit afterwards!

Excerpt from Shinji Moon’s “Why do you write poetry?”

“Because I have forgotten everything else.

Because there are questions that no one has answered, because there are dreams that have snuck up from behind me and left burns in the places that I can’t reach with just my hands, with just my skin…. Because I keep answering questions with more questions, and there are question marks between myself and other people and I can no longer keep myself from wondering why that must be so. Because I have seen love – have witnessed love, have touched love, have fought with love, have tried to drown love only to see it again one morning, making me coffee in the kitchen, humming a song that I thought I had forgotten. Because you broke my heart. Because I broke yours. Because we don’t understand how that could be so.

Because. Because. Because.

Because I still love you. Because I always will. Because you are the more honest verse that I have ever written. Because fuck poetry. Because fuck me. Because please. Because yes. Because you.

Because this.”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

In Summary

And lastly, let me reiterate

and I hope in the end you will agree,

yes, very few things remain constant,

and the need for art and poetry is one of thee,

in whatever form it may be.

And there you have it! I hope somehow this guide has helped and inspired you to write and discover your style and the craft of modern free verse poetry.

So embrace your inner poet, and start writing your free verse poetry now. Your audience awaits!