Here we go again; I’ve found another kind of poetry that struck me as interesting enough to write an entire thing on it. Amazing how that happens right when I sit down to be productive…
You're about to witness the ramblings of someone who absolutely should be writing their contest entry right now... but instead, I spent the better part of today obsessively researching palindrome poems. Yeah, I know, it’s ridiculous. I've spent so much time and energy on this for no reason other than pure, unbridled enjoyment (and also procrastination).
But here's the thing— the more I dug into this, the more I realized just how insanely fun palindrome poems really are. They're like the Rube Goldberg machines of the poetry world: intricate, backward, and completely over-engineered for no apparent reason other than "because we can." And lemme tell you, I had a blast putting this all together.
So here we are, and I’m sharing this nonsensical, over-researched, way-too-enthusiastic guide to writing palindrome poems.
Step 1: The Basics
This all stemmed from a completely innocent Google search for creative poetry styles— just something simple I could write quickly to get the creative juices flowing, like a warmup of sorts. Then I came across some cool examples of palindrome poetry and noticed just how snazzy they are. So naturally, I dove into a black hole of research to figure them out.
At first I thought they had to be completely symmetrical, like an actual palindrome. And while I got that definition sometimes, more and more I started seeing “palindrome poem” used interchangeably with “reverse poem”, which is a poem that makes sense read line-by-line from top to bottom or bottom to top, but whose meaning changes drastically (usually with the top-to-bottom reading meaning the exact opposite as the bottom-to-top). Still, you’ve got to carefully craft this linguistic Rubik’s Cube, maneuvering lines and replacing words until it all folds in on itself like some sort of literary witchcraft.
Step 2: Structure (Or Lack Thereof)
There are a million ways to approach a palindrome poem, but I’ve learned (through extensive, highly unnecessary research) that the structure is almost completely up to you (as long as there’s still a forward/backward element to it). Do you want to mirror words exactly? Go for it. Do you want a complex, convoluted masterpiece that takes a shit ton of effort and a certain amount of hyperfixation to complete? …just me?
Here's an example of a palindrome poem that some of you may have read before, just so you can get an idea of these things' structure:
source
I am part of a lost generation.
And I refuse to believe that
I can change the world.
I realize this may be a shock, but
“Happiness comes from within”
Is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy”
So in thirty years, I will tell my children
They are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
Work
Is more important than
Family
I tell you this:
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
But this will not be true in my era.
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
Thirty years from now, I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making.
In the future,
Environmental destruction will be the norm.
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this Earth.
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
Very sad, very pessimistic. But then when you read it backward...
All of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
There is hope.
It is foolish to presume that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It will be evident that
My peers and I care about this Earth.
No longer can it be said that
Environmental destruction will be the norm.
In the future,
I will live in a country of my own making.
I do not concede that
Thirty years from now, I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.
Experts tell me
This is a quick fix society
But this will not be true in my era.
Families stayed together
Once upon a time
I'll tell you this:
Family
Is more important than
Work
I have my priorities straight because
My employer will know that
They are not the most important thing in my life.
So in thirty years, I will tell my children
“Money will make me happy”
Is a lie, and
“True Happiness comes from within”
I realize this may be a shock, but
I can change the world.
And I refuse to believe that
I am part of a lost generation.
Crazy.
Of course I also attempted to make one of these, but I figured I’d show you a good example before getting to that. My example is much shorter, due to me not being good at this.
There’s plenty of time
Why did I think
I needed to rush
Is this profound? Nah. Is it a palindrome poem? Absolutely. Did I spend an unnecessary amount of time rearranging it so it works backward and forward, even though it’s just three lines?...yes. And let me tell you, the joy that comes from getting those lines to align? Pure bliss.
Step 3: Wordplay!
The best part of palindrome poetry (aside from, you know, everything) is that you get to screw around with language; take your sweet time just playing with words like a five-year-old in a candy store. Words can repeat, phrases can repeat, and sentences can mirror each other like a warped funhouse.
Screw the rules; write whatever feels fun. Don't be afraid to experiment. It can be abstract, it can be messy, it can be whatever. Reading the poem backward doesn't have to bring forth an opposite meaning as reading it forward; it can mean the same thing, just worded differently. Or maybe you want an exact mirror, that’s cool too. Or it can loop in on itself— I wrote one like that, too.
I’ll do it later.
No need to rush;
There’s still time.
I’ll start soon, just not yet.
It’s not like anyone’s counting on me;
I’ll get to it eventually.
There’s no harm in putting it off.
It can wait.
Why bother?
But…
I’m running out of time.
I can’t keep ignoring it.
I need to take action, now.
It goes from “procrastination is fine” to “oh shit I should be working” and back again, just like my brain every single day.
Step 4: Editing— Don’t Lose the Fun (Or the Madness)
Here’s the part where you get to fine-tune it, but don’t you dare overthink it. Don’t edit the joy out of it. The key is balance— the whole point is to keep the symmetry but also maintain that sense of controlled chaos. You’re making art, not an algebra equation. (Sideeye to those people who enjoy algebra equations… cough Peng and TCat cough)
Okay, now that that’s done, I guess I should probably get back to the thing I was supposed to be doing today... but hey, who needs deadlines when you’ve got palindromes, right?
More Examples of Palindrome Poems (a few different kinds, too!):
this one is a true palindrome, meaning that if you read it backward letter-by-letter it reads exactly as it did forward
this one also reads the same backward and forward, but line-by-line instead
a palindrome poem more like the examples in this post
and one more like that
Now go, my fellow poet, and have fun with these backward beauties! Don’t worry about perfection— just let your words loop around, get weird, and show the world that you actually can write poetry. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get back to my contest entry now.
Maybe.
