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5. Pantoum
The pantoum started as a Malaysian folk poem and grew and changed as it was adapted by Western writers. This type of poem can be as long or short as you like, and is composed of three four-line stanzas, where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next stanza. Often, the last line of the pantoum is the same as the first line of the poem.
Don’t feel trapped by the repetition of the pantoum! You can shift meaning in interesting ways just by changing the punctuation of the same sentence. For examples, see “Parent’s Pantoum” by Carolyn Kizer and Natalie Diaz’s “My Brother at 3 A.M.”
6. Villanelle
The villanelle is a French verse form that is made up of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain. The first and third lines of the first stanza repeat alternately in the following stanzas, and the two repeated lines form the final couplet in the quatrain. Put another way, the first line of your poem will also be the third line of your second and fourth stanzas, in addition to being the second to last line of your poem. The third line of your poem will also be the third line of your third and fifth stanzas, as well as the last line of the entire poem.
It’s possible you’ve encountered a villanelle before and haven’t realized it! Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night” is a famous villanelle that takes on the subjects of premature death and grief, among other things. Similarly, Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” is about coming to grips with the nature of loss.
7. Ekphrastic
An ekphrastic poem is actually not a form poem — it’s just a term for any poem that takes a visual image or work of art as its inspiration. I often turn to the ekphrastic because it’s the sort of poem that almost requires the poet to revel in the little details. When writing an ekphrastic poem, you might find it helpful to write down everything you observe about the artwork itself the expressions on faces, the texture of the paint or marble and then start thinking about the way those details impact you or make you feel. You could also imagine the artist, the time and place when the art was created, and more.