I used to write a whole bunch of shape poems during my early days of blogging. In fact, the first post of this blog was a poem, published in Sept 2008. I would experiment with different poetry forms, counting syllables and trying to find correct rhyming words. Presenting before you some of my old shape poems – free verses shaped in MS paint. 🙂
Shape poems are poems that take the shape of the subject you are writing about. For example – a pendulum or a swan (ugly duckling).
Wild Child
Dancing Away
Over The Horizon
These girl shape poems were written in my mid-twenties, reflecting a time when I was trying to find my feet in a strange land, working and gaining life experiences. I would come back from work and spend the evening writing verses and shaping them on my laptop. They might not sound as mature as some of my current work but I still love the free-spirited silly me who wrote them.
These were also the years when I moved from one cardboard sized room to another, living out of a suitcase.
Related Post - 10 years of living out of a suitcase
Mellow dreams
The Diva
I have a poetry blog too, called The Poetry Wagon, but it is dormant now. I don’t have the heart to delete it, so I just let me be. It contains a good collection of different poetry types if you are interested. These days I mostly write free verses and publish them on Instagram first – paperandprose.
Do you read some of your old works and wonder how time has flown by? Do they transport you to that time?
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A form that is fun to read, when the words and the shape are intrinsically linked. Not one I attempt to write, often, but it seems a natural form for you, as it fits so nicely with your art.
yeah it is fun to write… although takes time to shape the poem. Thank you 🙂
Wow these are brilliant. Writing poems that are good is such a task and shape poems are a different league. Your work is amazing.
thank you so much 😀
This is brilliant, Raj! I had no idea about Shape Poetry. How refreshing is this concept?! I especially loved the dancing girl, the words actually are dancing with emotion! Please don’t stop writing these. They are gems-really!
thank you so much. I wish I had more to invest in writing them. I do miss the joy of shaping them
This is so amazingly done!
Whoa this is incredible stuff Raji. What labor of love this is. I would love to be able to write like this and that too in shapes!!!!! Absolutely awesome stuff
Amazing! I had no clue that this existed. Apart from the shape, the lines themselves are peppy and upbeat.
That’s an interesting style. Nice poems.
Goodness, Raj! There are such poems, too!? I never knew that!
Gosh, I am flabbergasted, girl, for the patience and the creativity you possess…
Take a bow! <3
First things first, Raj-How did you wrap the text into the shapes? Like Shinjini, I too am amazed at your skills of not just writing the poems but with each taking a unique shape as well. You are so creative, Rajlakshmi… I’m discovering so many different facets of you every day!!
Beautiful poems and I’m in awe of these shape poems! How you get the text to fit within the outlines – amazing!
So cool! I did not know what shape poems were. I learnt somthing new today.