Acrostic Poetry | A fun poem to write! 😄

What is acrostic poetry?

Acrostic poetry is written by choosing one word and writing each line of the poem using the letters of that word.

Typically the first letter of each line is used to spell the word, but you can also use different letters within the line to spell a word.

Sound confusing?

Take a look at the above example of an acrostic love poem.

Below are 5 reasons why acrostic poetry is an awesome poem format.

5 Reasons to write acrostic poetry

Acrostic poems are challenging

Rather than taking a free verse approach to writing your poem, you’re challenged by the acrostic poetry format to start with one word first and build your poem around the theme of that word.

For instance, in the poem above, I thought I’d try to write a few lines of acrostic poetry on the theme of love.

At the start, I had no idea what each line would say, but I used the word “love” to inspire each line of the poem.

Acrostic poems provide a great starting point for theme

Some of us don’t write poetry just because we’ve been inspired by a life’s circumstance or a beautiful scene of nature.

So for novice poets like myself, it’s great to have a starting point.

Acrostic poetry only requires that we get started by thinking of ONE word.

Perhaps you’d like to write an acrostic poem about cats.

So, immediately you know that 4 lines are needed for the poem, beginning with the letters C-A-T-S.

This provides a great starting point for those who have trouble putting their thoughts down in poetic form.

Acrostic poetry does not need to rhyme

Others don’t particularly enjoy writing poetry that rhymes. Rhyming feels too burdensome and restrictive.

A great feature of an acrostic poem is that this type of poetry doesn’t require you to use rhyming words.

You simply need to think about written lines that will align to the theme of the word you’ve chosen.

Great way to get children started on writing poetry

Often, children take a while to understand rhyming or to build their vocabulary to the point of writing longer poems.

With acrostic poetry, you don’t need to worry about the rhyming aspect of building your poem.

Your child can simply choose a fun word of interest and you can help them to think of a word that starts with each of the letters.

They might choose the word, “play.”

In this instance, you would ask them, “Can you think of a word that begins with the letter P?” They might respond with “Pan.”

From there you can prompt them to think about “pans” and “play.” The first line of the poem might go, “Pans make lots of noise.” The second line might read, “Love to beat them loud.” And so on.

Aesthetically pleasing layout

Lastly, acrostic poetry has a format that catches the eye and immediately draws the reader to a theme.

In the example above, you immediately know that I’ll be writing about love. Whereas, other types of poetry are up for more interpretation.

Certainly, acrostic poems can still be deep and interpretable. But in general, the theme is clear.

From a child’s perspective, I think the simple acrostic format can grab their visual curiosity quicker than simply hearing the rhyme of a traditional poem.

An example of acrostic poetry

Here is my first try writing an acrostic poem with the theme of love.

Love takes us higher
On wings of endless day
Vanished in the distance
Every worry held at bay.

Why I choose love

I personally can’t get enough of love and rhyming. So I wanted to write my first acrostic poem using the word, “love.”

Most of the poems I write are on the subject of love because I believe love transcends our earthly existence.

Love makes happiness possible and enriches our life in the now. I believe love can vanish our present worries and stop our stress from returning.

I hope you enjoy this acrostic poem about love. Please leave your acrostic poem in the comments below!

LoveLifeLinks.com believes you can enjoy the therapeutic benefit of expressing love through poetry.

Remember, you can feel love. Anywhere. Anytime. All the time.