As the name suggests, the Cinquain is a poem of five lines. The most common variation of this form is the American Cinquain poem. It is heavily inspired by haiku and tanka in Japanese poetry. This form is a poem of five lines that have specific syllable counts. (2,4,6,8,2)
Rules of the Form
- 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
Variations of the Form
Reverse Cinquain – The syllable count of each line is (2,8,6,4,2)
Example of the Form
struggle
emblazoned on
eyelids of gossamer–
soft cobwebs woven in secret
the fly.
Read more examples here
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