Poetry Forms to Try Based On Your Zodiac Sign
Forms are fun!
I didn’t always think that. Honestly, I credit author, poet and fellow TPL collaborator Anne Marie Wells for changing my mind. During her class on Queer Subversion of Form she advised that I stop looking at form as a set of constraining rules to follow and instead look at it as a challenge. To use the form as a framework rather than a limitation, because our poems are our own. She got me.
I’m an Aquarius sun—I can't help but to gravitate toward going against the grain. Subversion of poetic forms is some of the best fun a poet can have (aside from getting the “we’d love to publish your work” email). If forms feel foreign to you, I enthusiastically invite you to find your sun, moon, and rising sign and—traditionally or unconventionally—give these a try!
ARIES
Free Verse
The rules of free verse are that there are no rules. Liberated from formal requirements, the free verse poem is whatever it wants to be. No meter, no rhyme, no problem. There is no metrical plan for free verse poems. The plan is to get your point across and, dear Aries poet, I think we both know you’re adept at that. Aries season marks the beginning of spring, Aries is a cardinal sign. Cardinal signs like to start things, and in comparison to the other cardinal signs, Aries hits the ground running. Libra, Cancer, and Capricorn are signs that start things a bit more softly. Libra reaches outward to start relationships, Cancer initiates familial bonds, Capricorn moves forward slowly with a plan in place, but Aries? Aries starts action, motion and momentum. Leader of the zodiac, a courageous trailblazer, Aries picks a direction and goes. Pick a topic that you feel you can move through and let the unshackled form of free verse help you explore it.
TAURUS
Haiku
Haiku poetry is so cute, just like you, Taurus. The form is very specific, composed of three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables and the third has five syllables, although not every poet sticks to the strict guidelines. For the most part, a short, three-line poem with few syllables counts. When haiku first hit the scene in Japanese literature in the 17th century, it focused on observations of the natural world. Enter Taurus. Taurus is earthy, fertile, and serene. It is ruled by Venus, the lover of all things gorgeous, so Taurus has an affinity for noticing and surrounding itself with beauty, harmony, and luxury. Finding beauty in the seemingly mundane natural world is a specialty of Taurus. Languishing in the senses, not necessarily the words is where Taurus’ heart lies. It observes and communicates directly and succinctly, much like haiku.
GEMINI
Acrostic
Gemini is synonymous with duality, represented by the twins. Changeable and fluid, Gemini loves to find the meaning of things, then the “why”, then the “how”… you catch my drift? Acrostic poetry is a form that utilizes the line in two different directions. Certain letters in each line, typically the first, spell out a word or phrase. So not only are you writing a poem horizontally, but there is a message within the poem vertically. It relies on multiple layers of the reader’s perception, Gemini’s favorite thing. It’s an air sign, so ideas and communication are its forte. It’s also mutable air, the flexibility it has in expressing itself is unmatched in the zodiac. It didn’t earn the title of “shapeshifter” for nothing. Try your hand at an acrostic poem and find the mercurial meaning in your favorite subject matter.
CANCER
Postcard
The feeling you get when you open up the mail and there’s a postcard from someone you love. All warm and fuzzy and full of memories. That’s Cancer. The milk and cookies after school, cozy family traditions, bedtime story vibes. Cancer deals with home and family, yes, but it also loves nostalgia. The goal of a postcard poem is to transport the reader and ground them into a specific place, maybe even a specific time. Postcard poems are poems of place woven with memories and sensory details and specifics, they pull us into a moment and make us feel comfortable. Cancer wants nothing more than for the people it calls family to feel loved and secure enough to put down their armor and open their hearts. Postcard poems are prose poems. They don’t necessarily have to be epistolary poems (letters) but they can be.
(By the way, everything I know about postcard poems and prose poetry I learned in TPL’s prose poetry course Brick Box Paradox created by founding director Danielle Mitchell, and I can’t recommend it enough!!).
LEO
Self-portrait
Self-portrait poetry is one of those things that sounds easier than it is. Self-portrait poems paint the picture, with strong voice and imagery, of the speaker. To structure a poem as a self-portrait, one must be comfortable with being seen, being known. Leos have no problem with either. Although it’s deeper than that. Leo is special, not just because it’s the only sign ruled by the sun, but because its goal is to express and to be witnessed. Creative expression and self-portrait poems go hand in hand. Oftentimes self-portrait poems display feelings of self-love and deep introspection. Leo, I know if you’re up for it, you’ll knock it out of the park. Leo harnesses the power of identity, and the best self-portrait poems give us the details and nuances of the speaker’s personality. To see oneself truly requires courage, and Leo, the lion, has that in spades.
VIRGO
Diminishing verse
Virgo doesn’t get enough credit for how funny and playful it can be. Let us remember Virgo is ruled by Mercury, who in lore was known as the god of mischief. Playfulness and mischief are two sides of the same coin. Diminishing verse has one constraint: the last word of each line gets “diminished” whether by removing sounds or letters. And while it’s not technically a rule, diminishing verse is typically written in tercets (three-line stanzas). This form often feels playful and lighthearted, and the diminishing the line feels like Virgo to me: clipping off the excess, sweeping this syllable off the table, snipping the line down little by little. Virgo appreciates a crisp, clean aesthetic in any scenario because Virgo values efficiency. But being efficient and being playful are not mutually exclusive, Virgo. If you find your writing practice getting a little too somber, give diminishing verse a try. Maybe it’ll point you in a more mirthful direction.
LIBRA
Golden shovel
Libra loves collaboration. While Aries is about the self, Libra is about the other, or togetherness, and you can’t write a golden shovel alone. The golden shovel is a fairly new form, created by poet Terrance Hayes in 2010 in homage to Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “We Real Cool”. Venusian Libra loves an homage. Golden shovels utilize a line (or multiple lines) from another poem and place each word of the line as an end word. These words are kept in order, so visually the line borrowed runs down the page at the end of your own. Harmony, balance, and teamwork are some of Libra’s top priorities. Artistic collaboration is arguably one of Libra’s favorite things. Poetry can be a solitary thing, but forms like the golden shovel give us the ability to work on a poem together with another poet, across time and space. Community and support are also heavy hitters when you’re a poet, when you’re paying homage, you lift someone up that you admire. That’s powerful. When you find a line you absolutely adore, try a golden shovel, Libra. Do what you do best and beautify.
SCORPIO
Confessional
Scorpio, I had to. You know it and I know it. Confessional poetry is honest and deep. Like, really deep. Scorpio is transformative, but in order to rebuild one must break down (think The Tower card in tarot). This is why I say Scorpio is honest. There are inescapable truths in rebirth. One must be willing to compost the old, staring truth in the face no matter how gnarly or painful it may be. Scorpio will not placate itself with delusion: traditionally it’s ruled by Mars, and utilizes the warriors' bravery. Confessional poetry deals with disclosing secrets and battles with mental illness or other heavy psychological subject matter. This is done very directly with very little, if any, metaphor. The point of confessional poetry is to tell the truth about the hard stuff, which can be a challenge. Herein lies your superpower, Scorpio, because you see the transformation that comes with challenge as you move toward healing and enlightenment. You cannot be changed by something so heavy and not gain wisdom. Now this is a fine line to walk, so Scorpios, remember to always respect your hearts, your minds, and our own boundaries on the page.
✨ Learn more about postcard poems and confessional narratives inside 5 Forms We’re Curious About this year. Get an in-depth look with these 5 mini-lessons, featuring writing prompts and example poems!
SAGITTARIUS
Echo verse
Sagitarrius goes in all directions, sometimes all at once. Like when you hear an echo and it’s difficult to pinpoint where it’s coming from. Echo verse is done by repeating the end syllables of every line. Alternatively, you could also repeat the syllables on their own line. The effect is a little drama and a lot of “let’s go!”. Echo verse has momentum just like you, Sag. Sagittarius is a leader in its own right. Not because it’s trying to be, but because it is by default. It knows what it wants, it’s chasing something, and by the time we realize we want to chase it too, Sag is already so far ahead the rest of us are trailing behind, like an echo. That thing is truth. Being a sage and a teacher, when Sagittarius finds truth, it makes sure to let us know over and over. Much like, you guessed it, an echo. Use that natural resonance to your advantage and give echo verse a try, Sag poets!
CAPRICORN
Villanelle
Capricorn doesn’t shy away from hard work. It loves boundaries and structure. The villanelle is one of those forms with very little wiggle room and I think you will thrive there, Cap. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a villanelle as “a verse form running on two rhymes and consisting typically of five tercets and a quatrain in which the first and third lines of the opening tercet recur alternately at the end of the other tercets and together as the last two lines of the quatrain”. It takes planning, tweaking, thinking, and work to craft a villanelle, and Capricorn has the stamina and pragmatism to deliver. Capricorn wants to set itself up for the long haul with a plan and distinguish itself with its accomplishments. A villanelle is nothing to scoff at: it’s intricate and layered, but likely rewarding for the Cap poet. In true Capricorn fashion, it can be tricky at first, but the more you work at it, the easier it gets.
AQUARIUS
Cento
Aquarius is a little conundrum. It’s an air sign, and air links ideas and thoughts together. Like Libra, Aquarius is concerned with ‘the other’ but, of course, in a weirder way. It’s concerned with the community, the group, despite the fact that it doesn’t quite fit in. That's why Aquarius’ vision is so valuable. Quite simply, it sees what others do not. A cento poem is a mashup, a remix, made of lines from other poems by other poets. Centos leverage Aquarius’ favorite thing: juxtaposition. To layer different ideas upon one another, to connect two seemingly different things, that’s Aquarius. Arguably the most liberating thing about them is there is no right or wrong way to lean into centos, just make sure you’re citing your sources. Let your vision lead the way, Aqaurius, and patch together some poetry.
PISCES
Ekphrasis
Ekphrastic is poetry written about or inspired by a work of art. Paintings, sculptures, and even architecture are all fair game. While Pisces isn’t ruled by art-obsessed Venus (traditionally it’s ruled by Jupiter), Pisces is where Venus exalts. Exaltation is special because that’s where a planet is the happiest, where it has access to all of its tools and expends the least amount of effort to use them. The goddess of art and poetry’s favorite place to be is in Pisces for a reason. Creative and mystical, Pisces loves to be immersed. It wants to merge with what it encounters and soak up everything it experiences. Ekphrastic poetry reflects on art and expands what it has learned. Jupiter, king of expansion, is really, really good at this. Pisces is the essence, the last sign in the zodiac, the culmination of everything that has come before it. I don't know if it gets more meta than a piece of art reflecting on a piece of art. So very Pisces.
This article was published on September 4, 2023. Written by:
