An extract from my epic poem Kalamand, available on Amazon. See my book links.

This is an example of design tradeoffs in poetry. The top version is as originally composed, many years ago; the latter is more recent, when I cared more about technical polish. But it is the first that sticks in my memory, and so, although less structured, I think it is better. (If you are interested in the role of memory in composition see my articles.)

I have composed poems from two lines (see Questions) to epics. The shorter poems may seem simpler, but they can be harder, because an idea has to be stated very concisely and every syllable matters.