Folding mirror poetry

I read recently about folding mirror poems - yet another form!  My recent dabblings in poetry have made me realise how many forms there are, and how much (some) poets enjoy using them.

My first thought when I read about folding mirror poems was 'what the hell?' and reading an example didn't help much!

After a bit of time on google, I discovered that a folding mirror is all about symmetry.  A poem has a beginning, middle and end.  In a haiku, these mirror each other, with a shorter but equal beginning and end.  Folding mirror expands that concept, with a larger, longer poem having start-to-end symmetry.  Read more about the form.

Poetic forms can be great fun, and having some constraints as a writer can help to stimulate creativity,  However, my first thought when reading one of these was that in terms with communicating with a wider audience, the key ideas are probably lost on any reader who is not him/herself a poet, and many who are!  In which case I wonder if they can be a distraction for a poet who really wants to share a message, or an emotion, or an impression.