A free verse is a type of poem that does not follow a specific meter or a specific rhyme scheme. There is no fixed form. A free verse poem does not have a specific rhyme pattern that it needs to follow and there are no set rules to writing a poem in free verse. The poem has natural pauses based on phrases. A person will pause in this poem like they would if they are speaking to another.
This type of poem is also known as a vers libre. Those are the French words for free verse. There is no set length requirement for a free verse poem either. Free verse is used mostly in contemporary poetry.
Free verse allows a person to express themselves through the words they are writing and not through specific meters. This will allow a person the freedom they need to chose which words to use and will focus on expressing their thoughts to the audience.
Examples of Free Verse
Fog
THE FOG comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
- by Carl Sandburg
I wish to be with the broken people
the get in your face challenge me people
The sometimes hidden
sitting in a dark corner kinda people
The don't you love me
I wish you seen me sorta people
People just being real people
not having to have it all together people
Them doing their best to figure it out people
dancing and singing without the smooth moves people
- Richard Lamoureux