FORUM

Welcome home!

At The Poetry Cove Forum, we are dedicated to bringing together poets from all over the world. We believe that poetry can be a powerful tool for connection and community, and we want you to have a place where you can explore your craft in an environment that is friendly, welcoming, and supportive.

We are committed to providing this space for you because we believe that everyone deserves a chance to express themselves creatively and share their work with others who share their interests.

We hope you will join us in creating an open-minded, accepting, and supportive community of people who can help each other grow as poets.

Is it possible to write a poem only using 1 word?

in Poetry Discussion

I recently saw an online prompt for writing poems of only 1 line but also challenged writers to use 1 word.

I thought how could this be possible?

One word on its own can only be understood from its literal meanings, surely.

12 comments

Comments (12)

Shen Friebe

Nov 02, 2021

•

Calling a one-word poem a 'poem' may be a tiny bit of a stretch, but I think the answer to your question is yes. Your question is a very good one- and a fun one to ponder about! I think your examples are brilliant ones, and they are definitely a lot harder to write than one may think.

I think the word (or in this case, the poem) would need to carry more than one meaning, and structure/form may need to play a significant part in successfully amplifying that poem's meaning. It also begs the question if playing with form or structure is cheating, as is writing a one-word poem that contains a title. Should we be aiming to communicate our ideas with literally just one word? Is that even possible? Is any further assistance a bit of a cop-out of 'insult' to that style of poetry? Hmmm... I know I'm treading in murky waters here, but hey. It's not impossible!

When it comes to one-word poems, funnily enough, Gabbie Hanna does this kinda well. See her examples below:

Link

In bio

Sad

-Isfied

These may be 'cop-outs' since she has included titles with her poems, but they are decent examples that embody the 'one-word poem' structure, despite the fact that I'm sure many Covers can do a bit better than this. I'll give her credit for playing with humour a little, and that she has produced something that can be discussed seriously on a poetry blog! Fancy that.

I thought I'd include a one-word poem I wrote off the top of my head just now, though i don't think it's very good and Hanna probably did a much better job:

Regicide:

Decide.

I'll be sure to post more examples here if I do decide to write more! Thanks for your question, Marc.