Oral poetry is poetry made to be spoken, chanted, sung, or performed aloud rather than encountered only on the page. It often depends on rhythm, repetition, sound pattern, and memory, since the poem is shaped for an audience listening in real time. Many oral traditions were passed down before widespread writing, though oral poetry continues in performances, storytelling, and song.
Example
Old road, long road, call the runner home;
Drumbeat, footbeat, over stone and foam.
Names rise softly, then the chorus swells-
Night keeps the stories that the singer tells.