Write an Acrostic Poem

 

Prague in Winter

Have you ever written an acrostic poem? Maybe you have and didn't realize what the correct name for it happened to be. To write this kind of poem, you write a word vertically, one letter to each line. An example:

J

O

Y

Then you write a line for each letter, using the first letter as part of the first word in the line. The lines should have some relation to the word you wrote. Write your word vertically in caps and the rest of each line as you would normally write. You can also write an acrostic poem by using only one word that is descriptive for the word you selected.

Acrostic poems are fun to write, and they can be used in many ways with kids at school or at parties. Adults will have a little more detailed lines. Acrostic poems can highlight good things or bad, what you like about something or what you don't like. They can be seasonal or use everyday words. Right now, we're getting ready for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. There are lots of words to be used for each holiday. 

Think of the many words associated with these holidays to help you write your acrostic poem. 

C

H

R

I

S

T

M

A

S

H

A

N

U

K

K

A

H

K

W

A

N

Z

A

A

Try taking one item associated with a holiday to write another acrostic poem.

C

A

N

D

Y

C

A

N

E

C

A

N

D

L

E

S

Here's one I wrote that has nothing to do with a holiday:

Writing is a joy

Reading helps me write

I love to write

Try to write every day

Each of us can write if we try

Racing to finish what I write some days

And one more:

Bring me something to read

Owning many volumes

Old ones, new ones

Knowledge comes from a book