How to Write a Skinny Poem

Skinny poems convey a vivid image with as few words possible. They can be about any subject but generally reflect serious concerns facing humankind. Skinny poems can remain alone or many poems can be linked together to create longer poems, much like with the haiku, and tanka.

Here are the rules:

  1. You will write 11 lines. 
  2. Lines 1 and 11 can be any length.
  3. You must use the same words in Line 11 and line 1 (but they can be rearranged). 
  4. Lines 2, 6, and 10 must be identical. 
  5. All lines except for 1 and 11 must only be one word long. 

Example: This is one of my skinnys from a project I’m currently working on. 

IT COULD BE A LIE

When someone lies
everything 
else 
they 
say,
everything,
becomes
questionable.
Everything
changes
when someone lies.

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