Keep Your Poem Safe from Editors

As a new poem editor, I’m one of the few people who are responsible for reporting poems that break the mibba poetry rules. One of the most common mistakes I see in the poem section is mislabeling the poem genre/type. Although I do have periods of free time where I can bum and revise poems on the computer, I like it much better if I can get through it quickly and have time to enjoy my time on mibba. I don’t like reporting anyone’s poems, but if your poem breaks the rules, I have no choice but to.

Now, I’m sure no one is intentionally mislabeling their poems, and no one wants to get their poem reported, so I’m going to thoroughly explain each poem type and certain exceptions that are acceptable.

Acrostic

An acrostic poem is a series of lines or verses where the first, last or other particular letters, when taken in order, spell out a word, phrase, etc. I’ll be honest, I don’t know how some writers are interpreting the definition of this genre, but it is not a regular free-verse poem. However, the poem title does not have to be what the actual poem spells. For example, Glad You Found Me is an acceptable poem.

Ballad

This poem is usually a song that tells a story, but with more structure than a narrative. It sometimes consists of repeated lines and a refrain. The intent of a song should be considered when composing a ballad. Basically, it’s a song that tells a story.

Elegy

Personally, I initially didn’t know what type of poem this was, so I can understand why there might have been some confusion. An Elegy is a poem that’s a sad song usually played at a funeral regarding someone's death. Like the ballad, it doesn’t have to be in song form. An elegy doesn’t have to be a song at all, but it must be mournful and usually regards the dead.

Epic

An epic poem isn’t an awesome poem. I believe many of the writers in the poem section have a misunderstanding of what an epic poem is. An epic poem is a very long poem that consists of supernatural elements such as gods and goddesses, upper and lower worlds (heaven and hell, etc.), a hero, and a villain. However, it could be acceptable if your epic does not include multiple supernatural elements, but it should always be lengthy and include a protagonist and an antagonist and/or a quest for something or someone. Epics normally rhyme, but rhyming is not a necessity.

Free-verse

Free verse is the easiest and hardest category to recognize. Many writers would type a structured poem or a poem with predictable rhyme as free-verse. That is not a free-verse. Free-verse poems have no structure, no expected rhyme, or any patterns at all. If your poem has no specific amount of lines per stanza, random or no rhyme, then it’s a free-verse. If it does not, then it’s something else.

Haiku

A haiku poem is a three line, one stanza poem where the first and last lines consist of five syllables and the second line consists of seven. Haiku poems are usually about nature. However, with Haikus the rules are slightly flexible. It is acceptable to have multiple haikus in one haiku poem. It is also acceptable to slightly change the syllable count (so long as the middle line is longer than the other two). But, it’s not acceptable to have a haiku with more than three lines per stanza because that just defeats the purpose of a haiku. If your haiku has more than three lines, doesn’t follow the stanza rule, and has multiple haikus in it, type it as something else.

Limerick

A limerick is normally a five line, humorous or witty poem with a anapaest or amphibrach meter that has a strict rhyme scheme (AABBA). I’m sure it wouldn’t be serious if the anapaest and amphibrach meters were disregarded; however, poem editors wouldn’t find it acceptable if the limerick wasn’t humorous. It would also be nice if the amount of lines and the rhyme scheme wasn’t disregarded.

Lyrics

Lyrics are plain and simple. That’s a poem that is written in the form of a song (consisting verses, chorus, bridges and/or hooks) with the intent of the lyrics being sung or rapped. But the poem doesn’t have to have subtitles (chorus, verse, etc.) so long as it’s truly meant to be a song. It could also be a poem based on emotional feelings alone.

Narrative

A narrative poem is a poem that intends on telling a story. But, although it’s supposed to tell a story, that does not mean it should be written in story form. It’s good to be creative, but if the poem does not consist of lines and/or stanzas, then post it as a drabble in the story section, not a poem.

Ode

An ode is a poem of praise (usually a person) of someone or something that the writer admires. Odes are pretty flexible, as long as they favor a dedication or praise of some type.

Rhyme

A rhyme is basically a poem that has a patterned rhyme scheme. Structure of the poem shouldn’t matter. This is one of the easiest to categorize. Basically, if it follows none of the other poem types, but rhymes, then it’s a rhyme. A good example of a rhyme would be the poem Ninety Nine Babies. The poem has structure and it rhymes; therefore, it’s a rhyme.

Sonnet

This poem is a fourteen line poem, where each line consists of ten syllables, that follows a rhyme scheme of abab-cdcd-efef-gg. However, the rules for this can be slightly flexible, with twelve lines instead of fourteen and varying syllable and rhyme schemes.

Verse

A verse poem is one that has a very structured amount of syllables per line, and lines per stanza. Basically it’s a neat and structured looking poem. No rhyme scheme or syllable count is necessary. Memories is a good example of a verse poem. Each stanza has four lines and each line has four to ten (mostly seven) syllables.

So, those are the poem types. If you label them right, us editors could do more poem reading than reporting. Poem reading is more fun, anyway.