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Sunday Scribblings #132: Playful Puzzle Poems to Pass the Time

January 29, 2023

January 29th is National Puzzle Day, and while I just solved the puzzle as to why this date (the creator of this day chose her birthday for the observation), I have so many other puzzles I still need to solve! From life’s great mysteries (ahem!) to the daily wordle and other fun puzzles I enjoy. But today, I am trying to be on the other side of solving puzzles. Creating them, poetically.. So let us learn how to write playful puzzle poems to help pass the time (both by writing them and solving ones others have created).

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Notepad and a pen over it with a cup of coffee next to it. words read Sunday Scribblings, and this is for Sunday Scribblings #132: Playful Puzzle Poems to Pass the Time

Poetic Sundays: Puzzle Poems to Pass the Time!

Puzzle poems or riddle rhymes have been there forever. The sphinx, the trolls under the bridge, even gods, and more have been asking riddles, and so many times, done so in some sort of rhythmic fashion to emulate poems or rhymes. They are definitely a playful way to pass the time, to sharpen the saws of our mind, and to simply have fun!

So let us look at a few variations of these and some tips on how to write them as well.

What is the Puzzle Poem or the Riddle Rhyme?

The puzzle poem (or the riddle rhyme) is simply what it says it is, a poem that poses a puzzle, or a rhyme that renders a riddle. It uses descriptive words and other clues to help the reader guess the answer.

These poems get both writers and readers (aka solvers) thinking differently. They can be straightforward or they can be challenging, but they are always fun to both write and solve.

A Puzzle Poem’s Characteristics

So a puzzle poem’s elements are that at its most basic, it is:

  • thematic: asks a question; poses a puzzle; renders a riddle!
  • rhyme-optional
  • employing some literary devices more often than not. Riddle rhymes or puzzle poems often use alliteration and assonance, metaphors and similes, metoynms and synecdoches, onomatopoeia, kennings, and more.
  • fun!

How to Write a Puzzle Poem or a Riddle Rhyme

Puzzle poems can be of a few different types. Most common ones include ‘What Am I?‘ or ‘What Is It?‘ type of poems and ‘My First Is In’ types, and then there are a few other general riddle/puzzle type questions. To write the poem, work from the answer backwards towards the poem itself!

For the ‘What Am I’/’What Is It’ Type

Begin With the Answer

Since we want the reader to arrive at an answer, let us begin with the answer! Pick a word that is more concrete and real, like a road, an orange, mac and cheese, a monkey, or other such things. Avoid concepts like happiness, joy, misery as they are first difficult to riddle and second, not so easy to arrive at as the answer to a riddle.

Let us use an example answer to write a poem. I am going with a piano

Expand Upon the Answer

Brainstorm and put down all words and phrases you associate with the word. Imagine the word speaking to you and talking about itself. Use a dictionary or thesaurus if you want to add to the list.

Immediate association: keys, black and white, music, play (the piano), keyboard, instrument, grand, upright, concert, electric, digital, Steinway & Sons, orchestra, performance, notes, pedals, strings, hammer, tuning, legs/feet (for the piano instrument), lid, rack (for keeping music)

Ideas/phrases associated with some of the above words: lock, newspaper (black and white), games (play), box (lid), strings (guitar/puppet), cycle (pedals), nails(hammer), tuning (radio)

Make up the Clues

Write some clues using a ‘What Am I’ format and the words/ideas made earlier. Ensure you do not give any direct clues. Use your imagination, and of course metaphors and similes, even kennings and other literary devices wherever possible to write these clues.

For example, for our answer, piano, and our list above, here are some clues in a ‘I am/have a’ format:

I have keys but I cannot open any locks
I am black and white but not a newspaper (or zebra or penguin)
I have a lid but no boxes that fit it
A hammer that cannot fix nails
I can be played but am not a game
Can be tuned but not a radio
have strings but not a puppet
and so on..

While I did not directly use ‘like a’, I do have comparisons of sorts throughout. To give you a couple of example of using similes or metaphors or kennings,

  • Say your word/phrase was ‘water’, you could say ‘like a mirror’ (simile)
  • Or your word was ‘leaf,’ you could say ‘pile grower’ or ‘air cleaner’ (metaphors/kennings)
Write the First Draft

Put all you have together, the words, the descriptions, and ideas to write that first draft for your puzzle poem.

Our example: piano. Here is my attempt to put those clues together

I have many keys but locks can’t be opened by me
I also have a lid but no boxes that it fits.
Black and white is what you see, but you cannot read me
I have a hammer too, though nails are not what I do
You can play me and have fun, but I am not a game, nuh, not one
What am I?

Wrap Up Your Riddle Rhyme! Pack up Your Puzzle Poem!

Revise, rewrite, stylize it, make the puzzle easier (or harder) to solve depending upon your audience, make it more fun or more cool or classy as you wish.

Now your poem is ready!

I choose to leave my example poem as is for now.. so here it is

Indeed, I have very many keys
but locks can’t be opened by me.
I also (sometimes) have a lid
but no boxes that it fits.
Black and white is what you see
But you cannot read me
I have a hammer too
But nails are not what I do
You can play me and have fun
But I am not a game, nuh, not one..
What am I?
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

For the ‘My First is In’

Begin With the Answer

Pick the answer word for your poem first.

Our example answer: piano

Choose How: Letters or Sounds

You can either use the letters of the word or the sounds/syllables in the word to write the poem.

For piano, let us pick letters (choosing sounds/syllables would end up with us using ‘p’ ‘ya’ ‘no’)

Pick Your Words

Now make a list of words that both contain and do not contain the letters (or sounds) for the answer word.

So, for piano: words containing each letter of the word piano (in order): ‘plum’, ‘link’, ‘cart’ ‘nose’ ‘odd’. And these words do not contain the letters (again, in order): ‘angle’ (no p), ‘heart’, ‘lone’, ‘mood,’ ‘main’

While I did not put any words that might rhyme above – for the letters in order – I will be using rhyming words for writing the clues for each line of the poem itself.

Make Up the Clues and String them Together

Make up the clues using words with/without the letters (or sounds, if you have chosen sounds as your option).

So, for piano (using letters of the word) and rhyming words as much as possible (though rhyme is optional), I have the following clues for each letter:

‘p’ in ‘gulp’, but not in ‘glum’
‘i’ is in ‘ice’ but not in ‘from’
‘a’ is in ‘art’ and also in ‘menace’
‘n’ is in ‘man’ but not in ‘place’
‘o’ is in ‘orange’ and also in ‘koi’

Finish the Poem

Now, write lines with the format, “My first is in ‘xxx’ but not in ‘yyy'” or ‘also in ‘yyy.” And if you want to make any changes to the words, revise it some, do it now and then, yes, your poem is done!

My first is in ‘gulp’, but not in ‘glum’
The second is in ‘ice’ but not in ‘from’
My third is in ‘art’ and also in ‘menace’
My fourth is in ‘man’ but not in ‘place’
The fifth is in ‘orange’ and also in ‘koi’
Now tell me – what am I?
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Tips and Tricks and Variations

  • You can use harder clues at the start (for the what am I which uses similes and such) for you don’t wish to give it away at the beginning for your reader after all! But keep your target audience in mind as you prepare your clues (difficulty level and words you pick)
  • You can use free verse to write the poem, for there is no need to rhyme here at all. But ensuring you have some other ways to have a beat or rhythm is always good. So you can use alliteration or assonance or half-rhymes or other rhythmic tools. For example, I could say for the example poem, ‘my fourth is in man and music and mace’
  • Or you could go in a completely different direction from riddling to making your poem a different type of puzzle completely!! Like a jigsaw puzzle. Think Magnetic Poetry! You can write a poem, and then split it up into words/phrases/lines and have readers put your poem back together. Granted, you might not get your original poem but try to split it up such that the solutions you get are closest to your own. So split it such that most people will arrive at your original one because it makes most sense when they put the pieces back together.

h/t, References, and Further Reading

My Puzzle Poem Attempts

Indeed, I have very many keys
but locks can’t be opened by me.
I also (sometimes) have a lid
but no boxes that it fits.
Black and white is what you see
But you cannot read me
I have a hammer too
But nails are not what I do
You can play me and have fun
But I am not a game, nuh, not one..
What am I?
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

My first is in ‘gulp’, but not in ‘glum’
The second is in ‘ice’ but not in ‘from’
My third is in ‘art’ and also in ‘menace’
My fourth is in ‘man’ but not in ‘place’
The fifth is in ‘orange’ and also in ‘koi’
Now tell me – what am I?
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Recently

On My Blog And the Homefront

Here are the posts this week

As for at home, the hubby and I have started watching Better Call Saul and so far, we are enjoying it… My teenager and I watched ‘She’s All That‘ together (me for the umpteenth time, for I don’t know why but I do love some of these movies).

My reading is varied, and a big chunk of it is the Cybils finalists in the nonfiction category. But I can’t say anything else for now, just that all of us round 2 judges are reading, and pretty sure that we are all making tough choices among excellent reads.

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

  • Literary birthdays this week include: Lloyd Alexander on Jan 30th; Laura Lippman and Norman Mailer on Jan 31st; Langston Hughes and Meg Cabot on Feb 1st; Ayn Rand, James Joyce and Khushwant Singh on the 2nd of Feb; Gertrude Stein and Ransom Riggs on Feb 3rd; Ravinder Singh and Russell Hoban on the 4th of Feb; Tom Eaton on Feb 5th
  • World Read Aloud Day (February 1, 2023)

Foodie Celebrations

Other Celebrations

Related Reads and More

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month? If you write a puzzle poem or a riddle rhyme, I would love to read it (and try to solve it too!), so please do share it with me

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon. And of course to the Ultimate Blog Challenge as well!

jigsaw puzzle pieces pictured here and pin title says Poetic Sundays: Playful Puzzle Poems to Pass the Time

8 thoughts on “Sunday Scribblings #132: Playful Puzzle Poems to Pass the Time”

  3. Vidya, I hadn’t thought about it before, but yes, riddle poems have been around forever! Rumplestiltzkin comes to mind. This kind of discipline is not for me, alas, as I’m wrapped up in solving the mysteries of human happiness and conflict/pain solutions. Thank you for a fascinating post!

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