Skinny
Quick answer: The Skinny is an eleven line form invented by Truth Thomas: nine single word lines framed by two longer ones, with a repeating spine word. Learn the rules.
The Skinny is exactly what it sounds like: a poem on a strict diet. Invented by the American poet Truth Thomas in 2005 during his time in the Howard University writing community, it runs eleven lines, and nine of them are only one word long. A longer first line opens the poem, a rearrangement of that same line closes it, and in between, single words fall like drops from a tap.
The form was designed, in Thomas's phrase, to say much with little. It has since gathered an international following, with a dedicated journal, The Skinny Poetry Journal, publishing nothing else. For writers who overwrite, and most of us do, the Skinny is corrective surgery.
A twenty first century form
Truth Thomas, a Washington DC poet and musician, created the Skinny with an explicit social conscience; early Skinnys often addressed injustice, poverty and daily struggle, compressed until each word had to carry weight. The form spread through open mic communities and online, helped by its clean rules and its friendliness to phone screens. Like the bop and the golden shovel, it belongs to the recent wave of forms invented by Black American poets that have quickly become common workshop property.
The rules, which are strict
Eleven lines, no more, no fewer. The first line can be any length, though brevity is encouraged. Lines two through ten are each a single word. Here is the catch that makes the form tick: lines two, six and ten must be exactly the same word, a spine of repetition holding the middle together. That repeated word should ideally be an action word, a verb with muscle.
The eleventh line must use the same words as the first line, all of them and only them, though their order may be rearranged. Rhyme and meter are not required anywhere. Subject matter is open, though the form's roots favour poems with stakes.
Writing your first Skinny
Start by choosing the spine verb, since it appears three times and sets the poem's pulse: burns, waits, forgives. Then write a first line containing words worth meeting twice; plain nouns rearrange better than ornate phrases. Draft the middle by instinct, one word per line, letting the spine word reset the rhythm at lines two, six and ten. Every single word line gets a full stop of attention from the reader, so clichés are fatal here. Finish by rearranging line one into line eleven so the meaning tilts: the same words should arrive changed.
What it teaches, and the usual stumble
The Skinny suits urgent subjects: hunger, love, protest, weather, anything that survives compression. It is also the best editing lesson available, since it forces you to weigh words individually, a habit that improves everything else you write. The usual stumble is a line one so bland that its rearrangement in line eleven changes nothing. Build line one with a reversible tension, and the final line will close like a key turning. Small forms get read closely, and a Skinny that lands can outscore a page of loose verse with judges who reward language and structure.
What poets can take from this
- Choose the repeating spine word first and make it a verb.
- Fill line 1 with words that will mean differently when reordered.
- Treat every one word line as a full beat, not a syllable.
- Avoid articles in the single word lines; they waste whole lines.
- Read the finished poem aloud slowly, pausing at each line.
- Draft three Skinnys in a sitting; the form rewards repetition.
Try it yourself
Write a Skinny about the minute just before rain, with a spine verb of movement, and let the rearranged final line reveal whether the rain arrives.
Questions
What is a Skinny poem?
An eleven line form invented by Truth Thomas in 2005. Line one is a short phrase, lines two to ten are single words, lines two, six and ten repeat the same word, and line eleven rearranges the words of line one.
Can the last line of a Skinny be identical to the first?
The rule says line eleven uses exactly the words of line one, and the order may be changed. Most poets do rearrange, since the shift in word order creates the poem's closing turn.
Does a Skinny poem have a required theme?
No, any subject works. Truth Thomas created it partly for poems of social concern, and its compression suits urgent material, but Skinnys about love, weather and family are everywhere.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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