When I started to write poetry one of my go-to forms was the (American) cinquain, this was a nice one that fitted well into twitter when it was only 140 characters. The form was once created by Adelaide Crapsey (September 9, 1878 – October 8, 1914) and heavily influenced by short Japanese poetry such as haiku and tanka, her collection as well as the form was published posthumously.

It is a short poem based on syllable count.and is a five-line poem with a syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2, but there are plenty of variations.

Here is one of her cinquains:

November Night

Listen…
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees
And fall.

You may use this form as a single stanza, you may reverse and/or or do it as a mirror. When done well it also bridges into concrete or shape poetry, as it may be shaped as an arrow, you may even want to use it as the poem of a haibun.

We have done this form a few times before. Laura for instance did one to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Play with the form, see what line-breaks may do, and when you are ready post it to your blog, link back to dVerse. If you like, leave a comment below, and even more important visit some of the other poets who have linked up.

Pley and have fun.