Chiasmus Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member A Simple Peace Chiasmus

Peace demands everyone 
Violence, only one
But a single choice - to forgive, to hope, to love -
Can start with one
And spread to everyone

Premium Member Shepherd: Chiasmus

I am the good shepherd;
    the sheep are my life.
He who is hired
    does not own the sheep,
Sees the wolf coming,
    Thinks about running.
Avoiding danger, flees from the strife,
    Leaving them helpless, runs for his life.
Snarling, the wolf rends, 
    devours, tears patches;
    Ruthless, descending,
    he scatters, he snatches.
He who is hired
    cares not for the sheep
I am the good shepherd:
    My sheep know my voice.
    I lay down my life for them;
    I do so by choice.

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from John 10, the chiasmus here is the contrast between the shepherd and the hired hand

Shepherd
  Hireling
    Wolf
      Hierling
    Wolf
  Hierling
Shepherd

Premium Member I Will Be With You: Chiasmus

I will be with you, right here at your side;
Be strong and courageous; with confidence, stride.
Obey my commands; abundantly live.
Meditate on the law by day, by night;
Chew on my words, savoring each sweet bite.
Follow my precepts, the joy that they give.
Be strong and courageous, not weak of heart.
The Lord will be with you; I’ll not depart.

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A chiasmus with an ABCDD'C'B'A' structure
and an aabccbdd rhyme scheme.
This is a distillation of Joshua 1:5-9


Premium Member My Choice Chiasmus

life can indeed be short,however ,death is always longer

Quantum Chiasmus

They are not the same person they married
When time was so kind and their hearts were too
In love to notice the flaws they carried.

Our lovers with heads in pillows buried;
Back-to-back like typical strangers do
Who never was the person they married.

Energy across galaxy parried
The telescopes that SETI’s folks peered through;
Hence, the space geeks missed the flaws it carried.	

In chromatic eyes, we could with care read – 
Midst cyan hair and faces of like hue –
That they were not the same beings they married.

When the fierce winds beat against house harried,
The mates slept back-to-back without a clue
Or unconcerned with the flaws they carried.

Two worlds of experts in theory varied
In how the transmutation could be true,
While new mates ignored the flaws they carried.

Premium Member Chiasmus the Form

life can indeed be short,however ,death is always longer


Chiasmus  a pithy reverse figure of speech


Chiasmus: Height

To be under 6 foot is better than being 6 foot under…

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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