Have you ever wondered what is the shortest poem ever written?

After a search, here is a result. The shortest poem in the English language, by the late great Muhammad Ali, is simply “Me, We”. I think he meant we are nothing without our connection to other people. Relationships define us. Ali was well known for his wit.

Me, We

* By Mohammed Ali

*Mohammed Ali (famous heavyweight boxer) in 1967. * World Journal Tribune photo by Ira Rosenberg. Real name: Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Born: January 17, 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.*

Could it be reduced to only one word?

Us

What do you think?

The second example is by Aram Saroyan (born September 25, 1943). He is an American poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist and playwright, who is primarily known for his minimalist poetry, famous examples of which include the one-word poem “lighght” and a one-letter poem comprising a four-legged version of the letter “m” (see the handwritten example).

lighght

*By Aram Saroyan

*Aram Saroyan (born September 25, 1943). Attribution: By BEYOND BAROQUE – originally posted to Flickr as Aram Saroyan, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4776054.*

Here is another effort by the writer and editors of ‘Muddyum.’ They state: ‘That’s why I said I aim to come up with the shortest poem with the most profound meaning, with emphasis on profound meaning. And of course, it has to have a sense of humour.’ Credit: Muddyum.

So here’s Muddyum’s masterpiece.

Rat!
Hit
Missed
Sh–!
*Credit: https://medium.com/muddyum/worlds-shortest-poem-9f97083f2c4c

Here is my first attempt – more serious. My first shortest poem.

Title: ‘Eternity.’
Blimp
Heart stopped,
Line
Eternity.

I have been thinking, and here is my second one – spiritual. My second shortest poem.

Title: ‘The Cross.’
Cross
Yes, No
Door
Yes!

My next shortest poem.

Title: ‘Earthworm.’
Light
Oh, no!
Dig
Covered.

Finally, a concise one – funny!

Title: ‘Filling.’
Tongue,
Memory,
Hole,
Missing!

One more.

Title: ‘Fluke!’
Dagger
Swoosh!
Peg
Apple
Split!

The very, very last one. I have learned if you give the poem a title, you can make it relatively short. Here is a one-word poem with a rich title.

Title: ‘Heavy Laden.’
Come!

*From the author’s sketchbook. Seven handwritten short poems. Credit: Mohammed Ali, Aram Saroyan & William Van Zyl.*

Now it is your turn. Jot down some words – find your creative and innovative genius.

Some rules and advice on how to start writing poetry.

1. Read poetry. Lots!

2. Listen to live poetry recitations. The sound of the words is important.

3. Don’t try to write a longish poem. Start small.

4. Just write the first line, then focus more on lines 2 and 3. Don’t obsess over your first line.

5. Research tools. They will enhance your efforts (e.g. Thesaurus – synonyms).

6. Explore literary devices. Enhance your poems with these devices. Develop your poetry writing skills by including metaphor, allegory, synecdoche, metonymy, imagery, and other devices.

7. Start with telling stories. It will make it easy in the beginning to get the first poem on the page.

8. Express small ideas, then move on to big ideas.

9. Imagine you are a painter – use words – cover the ‘canvas.’ Be a ‘word-painter.’

10. Take time and familiarize yourself with the many methods, forms, and genres of poetry.

11. Network with other poets. Visit their websites. Read their poetry. Contact them.

12. Enter poetry competitions.