Poems by Mikhail Alekseevich Kuzmin are characterized by a range of constant images (such as Hellenistic Alexandria, the French 18th century, Russian religiousness, etc.), virtuous skill of form (he was one of the first to devise vers-libre) and special attention for details.

When giving poetic performances, Kuzmin often resorted to music accompaniment, accompanying his own recitation with guitar playing. He set some of his poems to his own music and sang them like romances, though in a low voice.