Onomatopoeia Poems
The first challenge of Onomatopoeia Poems is learning how to spell them. Once you get that down, you can feel very smart (and impress your friends). After that, you can put onomatopoeia to work for you. If you say, "That's Greek to me," you're absolutely right. According to
Merriam-Webster
online, "onomatopoeia" is derived from the Greek words "onomat" and "poien," translating roughly into "to make names." A clearer definition would be that onomatopoeia is the use of words that sound like what they describe. A few examples would be: buzz, clink, tinkle, gasp, bubble... well, you get the idea. To take these words and create onomatopoeia poems (or to be more grammatically correct, "onomatopoeic" poems) you simply use these delicious words when writing. No problem. In fact, listen to all the onomatopoeia examples in the following poem from my book,
A Little Bit of Nonsense.
This is an example of onomatopoeia poetry in action.
Crack an Egg Crack an egg. Stir the butter. Break the yolk. Make it flutter. Stoke the heat. Hear it sizzle. Shake the salt, just a drizzle. Flip it over, just like that. Press it down. Squeeze it flat. Pop the toast. Spread jam thin. Say the word. Breakfast's in .
by Denise Rodgers Copyright© Denise Rodgers
A Little Bit of Nonsense
All Rights Reserved Art by
Julie Martin
Can't you just hear the egg crack (ker-ack)? And the butter "sizzle"? Oh, another place you can find this poem is in
Jack Prelutsky's
book,
Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme
. The title of the next onomatopoeia poem says it all. "Kaboom." It is a poem about miners. It's from my book,
Great Lakes Rhythm and Rhyme.
KABOOM! Kaboom! Ka-blast Way in the past the miners mined for ore. They searched for copper, iron and salt, for that and much, much more.
Kaboom! The bite of dynamite cut deep inside the earth. The charge explodes revealing lodes of minerals of worth.
Kaboom! The dust, the air so mussed went swirling through the sky. It was a sight, the dynamite that made the mountains fly.
Kaboom! The earth was filled with mirth so tickled by the boom. The miner's pleasure, each newfound treasure that followed each Kaboom!
by Denise Rodgers Copyright© Denise Rodgers All Rights Reserved
Great Lakes Rhythm and Rhyme
Art by
Julie Martin
The next onomatopoeia poem is also from
Great Lakes Rhythm and Rhyme.
It is all about the Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. (These falls were also the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, Hiawatha.) Listen to all the "whooshing," "gushing," "roars," and more to see how this is a piece of onomatopoeia poetry.
Tahquamenon Falls Water rushing, gushing, pushing past the limits of the edge. Water barrels off the ledge, whipping up the bottom sludge, makes the water look like fudge, growling with a freight train's roar, wildly rushes out some more.
You could harness all the power as it flashes hour by hour and will never, ever stop, thickly loaded from the top. Water flowing, swiftly whooshing, always whisking, always pushing to the river down below, always rushing, never slow, till it falls right past the islands, gives it just another try and with a mild and calming quiver, it becomes a simple river. It's amazing if you spy it; all that noise and then the Quiet.
by Denise Rodgers Copyright© Denise Rodgers
Great Lakes Rhythm and Rhyme
All Rights Reserved Art by
Julie Martin
If you are interested in writing an onomatopoeia poem, give it a try. It's a lot of fun. Pick a topic that makes sound, of course. Think of all the words that describe the sound. Make a list and then sit down in a comfy place and start to write. I'm sure you'll find that your onomatopoeia poem will have a lot of life -- and paint a very vivid picture.
If you've enjoyed the onomatopoeia poems on this page, and would like to find more funny poems, please return to my HOME page.
Or, you may go directly to
Funny Sonnet Poems
Metaphor Poems
Funny Simile Poems

|