Epistle Poem

Epistle poems date back to ancient Rome and Biblical times.  Epistle comes from the Latin term, epistula meaning letter.  The subject matter for the traditional poem is love, religion or philosophical matters. This type of poem is usually found written to an imaginary person or thing.  Think about  the tone and  the person or thing you are writing to.  Is it a friendly, business, formal, angry, sad or casual letter?   You could write to someone dead or famous.  There is no fixed form.


Here are some examples:

This is my letter to the world,
      That never wrote to me,
The simple news that Nature told,
       With tender majesty.

Her message is committed
       To hands, I cannot see;
For love of hers, sweet countrymen,
       Judge tenderly of me!

 ~Emily Dickinson

Here is one in postcard form:

On the other side of these words
are the tender green cane fields
my sugar, my alcohol, my rum
the chartreuse just after the rain.

This is my green wheelbarrow,
beauty, compelled by verdure,

even the white roses in head
burn jealous in a candle flicker

petals turn and coil in the flame
blacken to a foil of happy ash
that scatters among the palms.

~Richard Blanco



I look forward to your letters.  I mean poems~