Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Poetry Thursday: Cinquain Central

This week I have been learning about cinquains as a form of poetry, and I thought I would integrate my new knowledge within this week's poetry thursday brief. And such an inspiring brief... I was overwhelmed with ideas and then went blank, only to find this medium perfect for my task. Apparently, cinquains are written using the following guidelines:

Line 1: one noun or subject.
Line 2: two adjectives that describe line 1.
Line 3: three action verbs (ending in –ing) that relate to line 1.
Line 4: a four word sentence that relates to line 1.
Line 5: one word that sums up or means the same thing as line 1.

For example;

River
Clear, wonderful,
Slapping, whirling, flowing
The river is cold.
Water

Of course, the idea though is to keep the subject or object of the poem secret, so the noun or subject would necessarily have to become a synonym for mystery or surprise. Here is mine:

Deep red You
Warm flow of breath, strength
Empowering, refreshing, liberating
You bring me life
Dark blue Me

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful poem for your secret word. I have a guess though. :)

Pauline said...

Beautifully done!

Clockworkchris said...

I also have a guess but this poem is wonderful. I like how you put two ideas together to create something very unique.

Dennis said...

Very Cool Nat! I'm not familar with that form. Thanks for explaining it! Your poem is lovely.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Gee, I think I know the answer! *raises hand* Pick me! Pick me!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Lovely poem, I also could guess but sense I'm expected not to say... I like the form, its an interesting one to play with.

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalie!
Thanks for explaining a cinquain (I'll have to try it). I like how you incorporated the form with the this week's prompt. Very nice!

Left-handed Trees... said...

"Dark blue me"...I love this line especially. You do a great job of keeping this form fresh...beautifully done. I think I know the "secret"--but the poem works on a variety of levels whether I'm "right" or not.
--D.--

writerwoman said...

Pretty poem. The contrast of the first and last lines is well done.

And I liked learning about cinquain.

gautami tripathy said...

I love cinquains. Do try butterfy cinquains too.

Meanwhile we keep guessing...

gautami
Parallel Streams

rel said...

Natalie,
Thanks for the introduction to cinquains. I like this succinct forms of poetry.
No clue?
rel

Anonymous said...

This poem seems very familiar. I think we both had similar ideas.

Thanks for your comment.

Rose

xo

Regina said...

I loved both poems here! I will have to try a cinquain myself!

Jessica said...

great use of the form and good job keeping the subject secret. I have to agree that the dark blue line (and the dark red line) is pretty fanatastic.

Natalie said...

The water of life rel...:-)

Catherine said...

Lovely cinquain - I'm still wondering about the subject but I think the mystery is what makes it so intriguing

Sideon said...

This is wonderful. Thanks for including the cinquain example!

Alessandra Cave said...

Thanks for the lesson! And the poem is light and inspiring... I like it :D

Unknown said...

I really like cinquains. As a teacher, they are something kids can wrap their heads around and feel successful at quickly. And, yet, with the RIGHT words, wow.

And, believe me, you found the right words. Very enigmatic poem. Thank you!