- a composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly developed artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.
- composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of language or expression: a prose poem from the Scriptures; a symphonic poem.
- something having qualities that are suggestive of or likened to those of poetry: Marcel, that chicken cacciatore was an absolute poem.
- a composition in verse, usually characterized by concentrated and heightened language in which words are chosen for their sound and suggestive power as well as for their sense, and using such techniques as metre, rhyme, and alliteration
- a literary composition that is not in verse but exhibits the intensity of imagination and language common to it
- anything resembling a poem in beauty, effect, etc
