Poetic form
What are Rhyming Poems?
Definition
A rhyming poem repeats matching end-sounds in a pattern — a rhyme scheme like ABAB or AABB — that makes verse musical and memorable.
Rhyme is poetry's oldest memory technology: match the end-sounds of lines and the words lock together in the mind, which is why you can still recite nursery rhymes you haven't heard in decades. Poets map these patterns with letters — ABAB means lines one and three rhyme, as do two and four; AABB pairs each line with its neighbor; ABCB, the ballad's scheme, asks for only one rhyme per stanza.
End rhyme is just the headline. Internal rhyme chimes inside the line (Poe's 'While I nodded, nearly napping'), and slant rhyme pairs near-misses — 'soul' and 'all' — for a subtler music Emily Dickinson made her signature. The craft isn't finding rhymes; any dictionary does that. It's making the rhyme feel like the line's destination rather than its excuse.
Structure of rhyming poems
- End rhymes follow a lettered pattern: ABAB (alternating), AABB (couplets), ABCB (ballad stanza)
- Perfect rhyme matches the final stressed vowel and everything after it ('light' / 'night')
- Slant rhyme pairs near-sounds ('soul' / 'all') for subtler, modern-feeling music
- Internal rhyme places chiming words inside a line, not just at its end
How to write rhyming poems
- Choose your scheme before drafting — ABAB pulls a poem forward; AABB snaps each thought shut.
- List rhymes for your key words first, then write toward the good ones.
- Never bend a sentence to reach a rhyme; readers hear the strain instantly. Recast the line instead.
- Mix in slant rhymes to keep full rhymes from turning sing-song.
- Read aloud — rhyme is for the ear, and the ear forgives nothing.
Private check
Writing rhyming poems?
Run your draft through the form checker — line count, syllables, and end rhyme measured in your browser, never uploaded.
111 rhyming poems examples
Classic and original rhyming poems poems, free to read in full.
A Red, Red Rose
Robert Burns · 1794
O my Luve is like a red, red roseThat's newly sprung in June;O my Luve is like the melody
16 lines · ballad
She Walks in Beauty
Lord Byron · 1814
She walks in beauty, like the nightOf cloudless climes and starry skies;And all that's best of dark and bright
18 lines · lyric
Love's Philosophy
Percy Bysshe Shelley · 1819
The fountains mingle with the riverAnd the rivers with the ocean,The winds of heaven mix for ever
16 lines · lyric
When You Are Old
W. B. Yeats · 1893
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,And nodding by the fire, take down this book,And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
12 lines · lyric
Meeting at Night
Robert Browning · 1845
The grey sea and the long black land;And the yellow half-moon large and low;And the startled little waves that leap
12 lines · lyric
Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe · 1849
It was many and many a year ago,In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden there lived whom you may know
41 lines · ballad
When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Song)
Christina Rossetti · 1862
When I am dead, my dearest,Sing no sad songs for me;Plant thou no roses at my head,
16 lines · lyric
So We'll Go No More a Roving
Lord Byron · 1817
So, we'll go no more a rovingSo late into the night,Though the heart be still as loving,
12 lines · lyric
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
Christopher Marlowe · 1599
Come live with me and be my love,And we will all the pleasures prove,That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
24 lines · lyric
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time
Robert Herrick · 1648
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,Old Time is still a-flying;And this same flower that smiles today
16 lines · lyric
Another Trip Around the Sun
The QuillOak Editors
Another trip around the sun,another year of you —of all the laughter you have caused,
8 lines · lyric
Snow Day
The QuillOak Editors
The radio said two words today,the finest ever spoken —no math, no bus, no spelling quiz,
8 lines · lyric
The Tassel
The QuillOak Editors
It's just a string, the tassel is,a finger's worth of thread —but look what it took to move it
8 lines · lyric
Roses Are Red (And Violets Aren't Blue)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, violets are — no.Violets are violet. I checked. It's so.This poem's been fibbing since 1784,
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (Pizza Edition)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, marinara is too;I ordered a large just to split it with you.Some people want sonnets, the moon, or the weather —
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (The Wifi Is Down)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, the wifi is dead,the router's unplugged at the foot of the bed.No streaming, no scrolling, no feed to refresh —
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (Yes, It's Another One of These)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, this format is tired,I had until midnight; a poem was required.But cliché or not, every word here is true:
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (For Her, Who Hates Mornings)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, the kettle is on,you're grumpy and gorgeous each day before dawn;and I'd give up sunrises, gladly, forever,
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (But They Fade in a Day)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, but they fade in a day;the chocolates get eaten, the cards thrown away.So here is the one gift that time won't undo:
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (For the One Who Steals the Blankets)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, my feet are like ice,you've stolen the duvet — not once, dear, but twice;yet I'd shiver forever, frostbitten and blue,
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (For the Man Who Fixes Things)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red. The stair doesn't squeak,the door doesn't stick — you fixed both this week.Some men declare love with a speech or a song;
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (His Hand Finds Mine)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, your hand finds my handin crowds, in the car, without thought, without plan;and that, more than roses, is how I stay sure:
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (You're Hopeless at Dancing)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, you're hopeless at dancing,but somehow you're great at this whole romancing:you remember my coffee, my mother, my dreams —
4 lines · roses are red
Roses Are Red (The Dog Ate My First Draft)
The QuillOak Editors
Roses are red, violets are blue,my hamster can't read, so this poem's for you.I wrote it in marker, I spelled it all right,
4 lines · roses are red
More examples
- Roses Are Red (Broccoli's Green)Roses are red, broccoli's green,…4 lines
- Roses Are Red (A Toast in Eight Lines)Roses are red, the aisle has been walked,…8 lines
- Roses Are Red (I Would Still Pick You)Roses are red, as they were at the start,…4 lines
- Roses Are Red (A Toast to My Worst Best Friend)Roses are red, your advice is the worst,…4 lines
- How You Take Your CoffeeI know the way you take your coffee,…8 lines
- Slow Dance in the KitchenWe never learned the proper steps,…8 lines
- StillAfter all the years and weather,…8 lines
- He Checks the LocksYou check the doors, you check the stove,…8 lines
- Two DegreesWe battle on the thermostat —…8 lines
- First CallWhatever news the day brings in,…8 lines
- To Mom, Who WorriedYou worried that we'd catch a cold,…8 lines
- Home Is a PersonThey say that home's an address,…4 lines
- The Sound of ChildhoodWe groaned at every pun you made,…8 lines
- DoorframeYou marked my height in pencil…8 lines
- A Word from the Fire MarshalWe bought the pack of candles,…8 lines
- The Zero on the CakeA zero on the birthday cake…8 lines
- Better Birthday MathThe candles say one number;…8 lines
- A Birthday BlessingMay your coffee stay hot, may your phone hold its charge,…4 lines
- Two ThreadsTwo threads alone are slender things…8 lines
- The SecretOur wedding song sounds older now,…8 lines
- One More Year of WeOne more year of "where's my keys?",…4 lines
- Out of Office (Forever)The out-of-office message…8 lines
- Boss of TimeYou gave the work your mornings,…8 lines
- The Smallest StarYou weigh less than the groceries,…8 lines
- Doctor's Orders, Friend's AddendumDoctor's orders, friend's addendum:…8 lines
- Get Well Soon (Selfish Reasons)Get better soon — for your sake, yes,…8 lines
- Two Syllables"Thank you" is a small return —…8 lines
- From Your Loudest ClassYou taught us fractions, patience,…8 lines
- A Sentence of Yours StaysA lesson lasts an hour;…8 lines
- The Robe Goes Back TomorrowThe robe goes back tomorrow…8 lines
- The Santa StakeoutI planned my Santa stakeout…8 lines
- One Window's GlowIt isn't really wrapping,…8 lines
- Seed Beneath the GroundThe earth makes no announcement…8 lines
- An Honest Note About My HomeworkDear Teacher: here's the honest truth…8 lines
- The Pea TreatyI've thought about your offer…8 lines
- The Monster Under My Bed (An Update)There IS a monster under my bed —…8 lines
- The Tooth EconomyI lost a tooth on Monday;…8 lines
- The Escaped YawnA yawn escaped at dinner…8 lines
- The Stone Rolled BackThey came with spices, not with hope,…8 lines
- What the Lily KnowsThe lily spent the winter…8 lines
- The First Blank PageThe calendar turns over…8 lines
- M-O-M (an Acrostic)More than the cards could ever quite say,…3 lines
- A Poet Named PrattThere once was a poet named Pratt…5 lines
- The Sneezing DragonA dragon who started to sneeze…5 lines
- The Caffeine ResolutionI solemnly swore off caffeine…5 lines
- A Dog with a PlanOur spaniel has buried, to date,…5 lines
- On Advice"Advice" is the formal request…2 lines
- On TomorrowThere's nothing I can't conquer,…4 lines
- Song: To Celia (Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes)Drink to me only with thine eyes,…16 lines
- A BirthdayMy heart is like a singing bird…16 lines
- A Dream Within A DreamTake this kiss upon the brow!…24 lines
- Love and FriendshipLove is like the wild rose-briar,…12 lines
- A Psalm of LifeWHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST.…37 lines
- Christmas Bells"I heard the bells on Christmas Day…35 lines
- The Children's HourBetween the dark and the daylight,…40 lines
- Song: Go and Catch a Falling StarGo and catch a falling star,…27 lines
- You Are Old, Father William"You are old, Father william," the young man said,…32 lines
- When We Two PartedWhen we two parted…32 lines
- The CloudI bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,…84 lines
- A Poison TreeI was angry with my friend:…16 lines
- LondonI wandered through each chartered street,…16 lines
- The Lamb Little Lamb, who made thee…20 lines
- The TygerTyger, tyger, burning bright…24 lines
- I Wandered Lonely As A CloudI wandered lonely as a cloud…24 lines
- In the Bleak Midwinter1. In the bleak mid-winter…40 lines
- A Visit from St. Nicholas'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house…56 lines
- TravelThe railroad track is miles away,…12 lines
- Rock Me to SleepBackward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,…48 lines
- SolitudeLaugh, and the world laughs with you;…24 lines
- The Arrow and the SongI shot an arrow into the air,…13 lines
- The Village BlacksmithUnder a spreading chestnut-tree…50 lines
- The Star (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)Twinkle, twinkle, little star,…20 lines
- TreesI THINK that I shall never see…12 lines
- Concord HymnBy the rude bridge that arched the flood,…16 lines
- Auld Lang Syne (Wikisource)Should old acquaintance be forgot,…25 lines
- Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningWhose woods these are I think I know.…16 lines
- My ShadowI HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out with me,…16 lines
- The Land of NodFrom breakfast on through all the day…16 lines
- If—If you can keep your head when all about you…32 lines
- BarterLife has loveliness to sell,…18 lines
- "There Will Come Soft Rains"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,…12 lines
- The Nymph's Reply to the ShepherdIf all the world and love were young,…24 lines
- The Darkling ThrushI leant upon a coppice gate…32 lines
- I Remember, I RememberI remember, I remember…32 lines
- O Captain! My Captain!O Captain! my Captain ! our fearful trip is done,…24 lines
- The Song of Wandering AengusI went out to the hazel wood,…24 lines
- InvictusOut of the night that covers me,…16 lines