The Tableau, a poetry form created by Emily Romano in October of 2008, consists of one or more verses, each having six lines. Each line should have five beats. There is no set rhyme scheme, although rhyme may be present. The title should contain the word tableau.

Since the dictionary states the word tableau means picture or representation, the poem should reflect this. A picture should come to mind as the poem is read.

Example #1:

Graveside Tableau

Sunlight cannot warm
The corpse of the bairn
Who drowned in the loch; 
Stoic the father,
Silent the mother,
While a spinster weeps

Copyright © 2008 Emily Romano

Example #2:

Winter Tableau

Not a sign of wind –
A single snowflake
Descends into view;
I search the bleak sky
For just a few more
And breathe in winter.

Copyright © 2008 Margaret R. Smith