Acrostic Poetry

"Quick, someone give me a commonplace word...."

Acrostic poems are poems in which the first letter of each line spells out a word.  I've bolded these letters in order to make it more apparent.  Funny how I got started on these.... Doug Wilson approached me in Tech Ed one day, crying that he needed an original poem for his english class.  Being in a pretty bad writers' block myself, I decided to try something in this seemingly simplistic form.  I scrawled out PENCIL in about 7 minutes, then decided that it was actually WORTH keeping and putting my own name on it (I then pulled something trite out of my ass and gave it to Doug for his assignment).

Since that day, I've tried to stick to the same basic format.  I've try as best I can to quickly capture the "essence", if you will, of my subjects.  These are all written very quickly (most under 2 minutes), minorly revised once or twice, then published (either here or in my blue journal).  All in all, there's about 35 or so of these suckers floating around.  Give or take.  And counting.

For some of these, I've provided explainations.

PENCIL | MOJINATION | VIAGRA | CAFFEINE | WAGNER | BALLOON | BONDAGE | MASOCHISM | PENIS | LAID | CROMWELL | DAMIEN | DANIEL | LIPSTICK | TURTLE | PLATE | DOUG WILSON | WINDOW | CLOCK | JAGERMEISTER | SUICIDE | TIPSY | STAGE | RESEARCH | IMPROMPTU | VALENTINE | MOO COW | ROSE | INTERNET | COMPUTER | DOOMSDAY | I THINK I'M IN LOVE


PENCIL was the first of the acrostic (see explaination at top).  Its simplistic, rhyming, and sing-songy.  I don't do that anymore, though, it would've driven me nuts.

Put it in your pencil case,
Eat the soft pink end,
Nibble on the yellow paint,
Crack the pointed lead,
Insert in the sharpener, or
Learn to use a pen!

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

This is based on Austin Powers:  "So I got my mojo to counter their mojo, we got cross-mojination and their heads popped off!"

Man, am I horny!
Oh to have been a swinger,
Just carefree times
Into the vibes of casual sex.
Nothing compares to the heat of her thighs...
Aroused, I stand at attention
To release my soldiers into the wild frontier.
Ignorant of the harm it causes
Onward toward the fleeting goal...
Now I'll have a cigarette.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Vegetable willies,
Ignite in passionate flames!
Age is suspended,
Geriatric problems, gone!
Rejuvination is temporary,
Again, it is flaccid.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Coffee, coke, and No-Doz, too.
All I savor is the drug.
Fighting against a no sleep night,
Finding it's an uphill fight.
Effect is slowly wearing off...
I think I need a nap
Nighty-night,
Everything is perky

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Wagner was my history teacher last year, and one of my SHB teachers this year.  He's got superhiman powers, he made me actually appreciate US history.  Plus he can pun with the best (worst) of 'em.

Wit's lightning fast.
Alert your pun shields, for
God awful jokes
Never cease from his mind.
Everyone hide! he's on a
Roll today!

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

This was inspired by my first job as the Balloon Nazi at Factory Card Outlet

Big, bright, colorful globes
Alive and vibrant.
Loftily floating on the wind,
Lazily drifting on the breeze.
Oh, to see the look on the face of a child;
Oxygen overtaken by heilium
Never again returning to the ground.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Uhh.... the next 4 were written on a paper napkin in a hotel restauraunt in Austria.  It was slow service that night, and most of the words were suggested by the one and only Doug Wilson.

Breath held deep within, as
Oiled leather binds the skin.
Now he shall learn his
Desire can only be
Aptly contained by the
Grazing straps
Enticing his arousal.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Moans from the basement
As "Tiger" works her charms.
Sensually, her claws
Open wounds of paranoia and desire.
Cracking her whip across
His trembling back, she
Intimidates her prey,
Seducing him to a
Most excruciating climax.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Perpetually aroused,
Erect to it's fullest, yet
Never touched by a woman.
Instead, it hangs,
Slightly to the left.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Lavishly enjoying a cigarette
Arms haging off the sides of the bed
In harmony with the world....
Damn, that was good.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike Cromwell and I got to know each other on the AMA 99 tour.  A combination of close quarters and lack of options lead me to, uh, pose that question upon myself.  He found out, and refused to let me live it down :-P.

Could a real
Relationship ever exist
Outside these bus walls?
Maybe it's best to
Write of my plight...
Elaborating to myself, and
Lamenting the
Loss of my dignity.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

These next two were written on the busride up to Hagerstowne for the Mummer's Parade.  Again, their reflections on a past AMA tour member.

Devilish grin
Attacks to the core of
My heart.
I find myself
Enthralled by his very
Nature.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Dare I open my mouth
And confess my feelings?
No, it cannot be.
I only prize him for his
Ease with a crystal ball.
Love has no place there.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

This was based on a brief morning dispute with my brother:
Ben: Why do you insist on taking so much time putting on makeup?
Me (sarcastically): So the boys will like me better!

"Luscious Lavender" or
"Indigo Dream"
Plastered across her face.
Such is the way of the
Teenage girl,
If she wants all those
Cool boys to
Keep liking her.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

The next two poems were based on the premise of "Quick, give me a word...."

Trodding along the highway
Unfazed by the cars
Roaring overhead.
Too slow is our poor shelled friend.
Lincoln Town Car didn't
Even see him.... CRUNCH

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Piled high with mashed potatoes
Liquified by butter.
Applesauce on the side of a
T-bone steak.
Eat it up while it's hot!

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

The one and only, my co-conspirator and inspiration...

Did anything
Out of his mind
Used to be
Good and

Wholesome?
I'm beginning to fear his
Lusty,
Suggestive poem topics,
Of which most bear my
Name.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching the world from
Inside the comforts of home.
No interaction, no communication.  Looking
Down on the world is
Only a fraction as satisfying as
Working right in it.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote this during SHB.  I'm not all that proud of it.

Circle on the wall,
Looming overhead,
Ominously marching onward, as
Class slows to a
Krawl.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to more AMA stuff.  Cromwell got drunk on jagermeister without me :-(.  So in order to get back, I wrote a poem from his point of view.

Just a cold, cloudly
Austrian day...
Grabbed my buddies for an
Expedition through the
Rain to the top of the
Mountain.
Eagerly,
I raise the
Strong brew
To my lips.
Erin probably
Really wishes she was here.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

I wasn't even depressed when I wrote this, I just figured it was a typical poetry topic, and I should probably touch  on it.

So cruel can life be, so
Unresponsive to suffering,
I feel I
Can no longer go on.
If only I knew for sure that
Death was the answer to
Everything.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

More AMA.  "Tipsy" became my nickname over in Europe, mainly because I was the only one who would feel the effects of one German beer at dinnertime.  And by "effects", I mean that I couldn't stop giggling stupidly.

The beer is getting to me.
I think I should
Probably stop
Singing so damn loud.
You're so @#%$in' funny!!

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Written while watching a rehearsal of "The Importance of Being Earnest".  Blame Oscar Wilde for his pompous characters.

Standing in the spotlight
Taking in all the
Applause I've earned.
Get back before my
Ego explodes.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Written in the Hotel du BCPL (the public library) while working on my senior paper.  I had run out of sources/notecards/patience, and this is all I could come up with.  Better than my actual paper, thats for damn sure.

Racking our brains, pouring
Every availible hour into
Searching through
Endless volumes of
Articles, criticisms, and
Reviews of books.
Couldn't you get off our backs?
Havent we suffered enough?

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

"Impromptu" by Tad Mosel is one of the one-act plays that we're putting on this year.  The cast had a hell of a time trying to figure out what it all meant.  So during the rehearsal, amidst discussing interpretation, we all wrote poems and such on the dry erase boards.

Is it really blasphemy?
More like a headache.
Papke musta not
Really been with it
On the day he chose this
Mindbogglingly deep
Play.
Too bad this'll go
Uninterpreted by the masses

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

This was written on THE actual day.  My personal (cynical, I might add) situation pokes its head through a little in this one.

Voice your heart
And confess to the
Love of your life how
Enamored you are.
Not that it'll work, but
Then again, unrequited love
Is a great topic for
Nauseous poetry and
Endlessly trite verse.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Oom.  I'm a dyslexic cow.  If you frequent the bandroom, you've probably seen the moo cow drawn on the board a few times.

Majestic creature
Of the pasture
Offers her gift of

Calcium goodness.
Oh, where would we be
Without the cow?

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

More V-day drivel.  The last line was given to me by Laurie Needer.  As cornball as she thought it was, it seemed to flow nicely, so I kept it.  Thanks Laurie!

Ruby red blossom.
Only a flower, but
So much more:
Exquisite beauty.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to expand this to a monologue, much like the Hacker's Manifesto.

I stand a prisoner of the 'net.
Nothing else gives me more pleasure
Than searching the web and
Expanding my knowledge by avoiding
Reality and human interaction.
No wonder I'm miserable. My
Existance has dwindled
To only a handful of 1's and 0's.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

Contraption of addiction
Only slightly better than television. It
Makes mush out of
People's minds. The
Unfeeling code
Tempts us into
Engaging in chat sessions instead of
Real life communication.

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

This is based on the Doomsday Machine in Dr. Strangelove.  The VERY basic premise of the movie is that a nuclear strike has been launched on Russia, but they posses this Doomsday Machine which will destroy the world if Russia is ever under nuclear attack.  I scrawled in on my extra sheet of paper after writing a timed essay for SHB.  When I showed it to Wagner, he stapled it to the rest of my essay =-0.

Drop of a bomb's all it takes,
Only one violation and
Our invention is triggered.
Mechanical, inhuman, unfazed by
Suggestions of rational thought, it
Deploys without human intervention,
Assuring total destruction.
You better get your kicks in now...

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~

In searching other Geocities pages, I came across a few dedicated to acrostic poetry, much like this one here.  Several of them dealt with acrostic sentances, rather that just words.  I figured it was worth a shot.  With this one, I try to capture the "love-hate" relationships of grade school recess.

I hate that boy over there.

The one who eats paste,
He thinks he's so cool.
I dont't see why, he
Never behaves himself and barely
Knows what's going on.

I think he's retarded, or
Maybe he was dropped on his head when he was an

Infant.  I mean
No one would ever go out with such a

Loser!  What poor fool would
Offer to be his
Valentine?  Certainly, it'd never
EVER be me!

~~~~~~~~top~~~~~~~~~~~


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