It’s finally spring. Are you sad to see winter go? Sad that fall is still so far? Excited for the next few months?
Example Cinquain:
Flowers
bloom in the back
Green canopies above
No snow so I am no longer
depressed
Form of the week: Cinquain
An Approachable
Form of Poetry
NEW FORM EVERY WEEK
NEW PROMPT EVERY DAY
SUBMIT YOUR POEM IN COMMENTS
OUR FAVORITE POEMS WILL BE FEATURED
AT THE END OF THE WEEK
About The Authors
Sam Kilkenny and Corey Bryan started Poetry Is Pretentious to help others get into poetry by providing daily prompts that are interesting and easy to complete.
This Week’s Form:
The Cinquain
As the name suggests, the cinquain is a poem of five lines. The most common variation of this form is the American Cinquain. It is heavily inspired by haiku and tanka in Japanese poetry. The Cinquain is a poem of five lines that have specific syllable counts. (2,4,6,8,2)
Rules of the Cinquain
- It is a poem of five lines
- It is a poem of twenty-two syllables
- The syllable count of each line is (2,4,6,8,2)
- It is typically unrhymed
- As always, bend the rules if you want to
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Prompt 76 – Changing of the Seasons
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Prompt 75 – Food Truck
New food truck just rolled into town–what’re they making?
Example Cinquain:
French fries
I hope they serve
Some french fries with french toast
This town needs some rebels in it–
French onesForm of the week: Cinquain
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Prompt 74 – Objects
If you could bring one object to life, what would you pick? I wonder what a chainsaw has to say…
Example Cinquain:
This clock
was here before
I moved in. I bet he
has a bunch of stories to tell–
ding-dongForm of the week: Cinquain
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Prompt 73 – Google Earth
Use Google Earth to go somewhere you’ve never been before. Use your 22 syllables to describe this brand-new experience.
Example Cinquain:
Oh, whoops!
Sorry! Didn’t
mean to just drop in here
Google Earth has set me in your
GardenForm of the week: Cinquain
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Prompt 72 – Decorating on a Syllable Budget
You can decorate your room with only the items that you can fit in this poem. It’s just like decorating your house on a budget. What makes the cut? And what could you live without?
Example Cinquain:
A bed
Wait no, a door
Oh, I guess I get both
So a bed a door and I’m out
of wordsForm of the week: Cinquain
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Prompt 71 – If You Could Be Any Animal
You can be any animal you want. You can be the birds that fly or the house cat that lounges all day. You can even be a worm if you want. What does your new life look like?
Example Cinquain:
A bear
A polar bear
So I could enjoy cold
weather, and swim with the icebergs
Up northForm of the week: Cinquain
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Prompt 70 – Your Ideal Commute
Work is an inevitable part of life, but what if the commute could be fun? Instead of sitting in traffic, what if you could ski to work? Fly on your broomstick? Take a helicopter? Or maybe it’s as simple as just being able to walk there.
Example Tanaga:
Skiing down the mountain snow
With laptop in my backpack
Goldfish bag for mid-day snack
And it’s off to work I goForm of the week: Tanaga
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Prompt 69 – Channel your Inner Rugrat
Remember when you were a kid even the little things seemed like big adventures? The slide could be Mt. Everest, the floor was always lava. Channel that train of thought and write about the little things.
Example Tanaga:
Longest couch you’ve ever seen
Made for the perfect island
I with for a submarine
The lava makes me frightenedForm of the week: Tanaga
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Prompt 68 – Changing the Scene
Most writing takes place in your office, at your desk, at a coffee shop. Try and imagine (or do it, if you’re crazy enough) what it would be like to write from your laundry room or closet or bathroom. If you don’t have any spare rooms, imagine writing underneath your desk.
Example Tanaga:
It’s all legs and feet down here
I really need to vacuum
Lying on the floor is weird
But it sure beats the bathroomForm of the week: Tanaga
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Prompt 67 – Poem for a Song
Take some inspiration from a song and write a tanaga about it. Impromptu ekphrasis
Example Tanaga:
Dad always played Turn the Page
When Mom wasn’t in the car
It wasn’t right for my age
But oh, man that song went hardForm of the week: Tanaga
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Reader Submissions
Favorite Poems for the week of January 15 – 21
Favorite Poems for the week of January 22 – 28
Favorite Poems for the week of January 29 – February 4
Favorite Poems for the week of February 5 – 11
Favorite Poems for the week of February 12 – 18
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