Day 19 ~ How to write a Cinquain Poem (pattern 1) for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ “30 poems in 30 days”

Day 19 ~ How to write a Cinquain Poem (pattern 1) for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ “30 poems in 30 days”

I really love cinquain poetry. Depending on where you get your instructions, there are a few variations. I’ve narrowed it down to three. Some years I share all three variations in one post, but I like them well enough that I’m going to share them one variation at a time, starting with the version I call “pattern one.”

Cinq is French for FIVE ~ this poem has five lines that follow a specific pattern, each line has its own purpose: title/subject, describe subject, express ACTION, then share a thought or feeling, and at the end, you will restate your title using a different word(s), with only a two-syllable count. DETAILS of how it goes are below in yellow.

This short five-lined poem doesn’t have an actual title; rather, the FIRST line (two syllables in this case) becomes the title.

It does not need to rhyme, and in this version, you count the number of SYLLABLES per line and each line has specific requirements. The first line has 2 syllables; each line increases by 2 syllables until the last line, which returns to 2 syllables.

RESIST the urge to add words - follow the pattern - you'll be surprised at your results!!

1^st line ~ two syllables – the subject (or title) of your poem ~ either two one-syllable words or one two-syllable word

2^nd line ~ four syllables that describe the title/subject

3^rd line ~ six syllables that express action

4^th line ~ eight syllables that express a thought or feeling

5^th line ~ two syllables that show a synonym for the title (restates your subject using a different word)

Here are some of my poems as examples of a cinquain poem (pattern 1). These are from years past, but remain a few of my favorites:

Comfort
Feeling secure
Where judgment has no place
Wrapped in the safety of your arms
Husband

                  © 1998 Stephanie Abney

 

Children
A gift from God
Grace our lives for a time
Remain in our hearts forever
Precious

                 © 1999 Stephanie Abney  

 

Poems
Feelings expressed
From down deep in my heart
So you know who I am, I’ll sing
Word Songs
 

            © 2011 Stephanie Abney

 

Let’s create some cinquain (pattern one) poems!!

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 18 ~ How to write a “Wishing Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Day 18 ~ How to write a “Wishing Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Everyone has been sharing such great poems in our poetry FB group and elsewhere online, as a result of this annual poetry challenge. So, today, on a busy Saturday – let’s make a wish!! Cheers!

There are so many varieties of “wishing poems” that, basically, today’s poems will most likely end up as free verse. OR, use any poetry format we have used this year or previous years to define your wishing poem.

Typically, they will start with the two words, “I wish. . .” but as long as it is about wishing and the word wish appears at least once, you will have written a wishing poem.

If you want to do a search for “wishing poems,” you will find so many and such a variety, but it might be fun to do so to help you get started, or maybe you already have an idea of where you want to go with this.

This is one of MANY wishing poetry suggestion sites: https://poemsworld.net/poems-about-wishes/

Here’s your free rein to do it your way. Cheers!!

 (Photo by Lori DeJong on Unsplash)

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 17 ~ How to Write a Haiku Poem for #NationalPoetryMonth “30 Poems in 30 Days”

Day 17 ~ How to Write a Haiku Poem for #NationalPoetryMonth “30 Poems in 30 Days”

Today is National Haiku Day

That’s why I waited until today to use Haiku as our poetry challenge. Pretty much everyone knows how to write one, but here are some interesting details . . .

Haiku is a popular and well-known form of poetry that started in Japan in the sixteenth century.

It usually centers on a nature theme, but you can make one up about anything.

Haiku poems don’t rhyme, but they do follow a pattern.

They are very short, structured poems with three lines and 17 syllables in total. The lines in a haiku follow a set pattern: 

 

Line 1: 5 syllables

Line 2: 7 syllables

Line 3: 5 syllables

 

So remember to use your syllable counter! Cheers!!
https://syllablecounter.net/count

 

Today’s haiku, inspired by my busiest and best title:
#NationalHaikuDay #Haiku #GrandmasTaxi

 

I wear many hats,
Wife, mom, sister, friend, and more,
Grandma’s taxi—fav!

© 2026 Stephanie Abney         

                [“AI-assisted illustration”]

I’ve written many Haikus in my lifetime, but this one remains my favorite . . .

Golden ball of fire
Slips behind the horizon
A desert goodnight
 

                        © 2014 Stephanie Abney

  (Photo courtesy of Bob Murray of Scottsdale, AZ - used with permission)

 

 

Here’s another:

A soft, gentle breeze
Tickles leaves in my front yard
And I know He’s there.

             © 2011 Stephanie Abney

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 16 ~ How to Write a Tyburn Poem for “30 poems in 30 days" #NationalPoetryMonth

Day 16 ~ How to Write a Tyburn Poem for “30 poems in 30 days" #NationalPoetryMonth

You all have been doing great, so how about a doozy of a challenge today? OK, excellent! Hold onto your hats!! Woozier! This is beyond tricky, but I think y’all can have lots of fun with it. I’ve only used this format a few times. It really makes you think to create it. (OH, and if this discourages you – that is NOT my desire – just write any poem you choose and COME BACK TOMORROW because tomorrow is National Haiku Day and we will be writing some Haiku poetry). BUT today, I hope you will give this one a shot. It really stretches your skills as poets and writers (and thinkers). So . . .

Tyburn poems are deceiving in that to look at a completed poem, it appears simple enough. Yeah, right! But it’s a good writing exercise. I’ve tried to explain it step by step and even created a little chart to help you out. Plus there are a couple of websites that help with description and rhyming that I think you will find useful.(And below I have created a little chart to help you out).

Here we go:

We are back to counting syllables and lines. This is a SIX-LINE poem and the first 4 lines are EACH a SINGLE DESCRIPTIVE WORD with TWO SYLLABLES, that all RHYME and make sense together. Phew!! We’re not done . . .

The last two lines (5 & 6) are EACH NINE SYLLABLES LONG, and Line 5 incorporates the first two of the words of the poem while Line 6 incorporates the next two of the words of the poem IN A SPECIFIC PLACE.

Line 5 will have 4 syllables (any word count, just FOUR syllables) and then the repeated words from lines 1 and 2 and then . . .

Line 6 has 4 syllables (any word count, just FOUR syllables) and then the repeated words from lines 3 and 4 . . .

AND then each line ENDS with just ONE word – with only ONE syllable and they have to rhyme with each other (but do not need to rhyme with lines 1-4).

So, if you choose a word that ends in “y” to start off your poem – they will all probably need to end in “y” and if you choose an “ing” ending word, then they will all need to end with “ing” (that’s just for lines 1-4). Better look at the examples AND the chart!

You can give this poem a title if you wish.

I know you can do it!! Cheers!!

Here is an example I found on the web – it’s rather light-hearted and cute:

PEANUT BUTTER

Nutty,

Sticky,

Crunchy,

Tasty,

Peanut butter, nutty, sticky spread

With jellied bread, crunchy, tasty fed

                                       © 2016 Charles Sides  

Handy little site to find some “Describing Words” ~ https://describingwords.io/ ~ just plug the word you want to describe and then click the search button.

This site not only helps you find rhyming words, but it separates them into 1 syllable words, 2 syllable words, etc. https://www.rhymer.com/ - RHYMER

This poetry form can be labor-intensive – but following the process creates such a great little poem. But, please forgive me if I don’t write new examples this year. I’ve got SO much on my plate right now.

Okay, here is my first one:

Poetry

 

Lyric

Cryptic

Magic

Epic

Poetry month, lyric, cryptic, jots

Share emotions, magic, epic thoughts

                                    © 2019 Stephanie Abney

 

Hope this little chart that I created proves helpful ~

And after my second example, below the chart, I outline, step-by-step, my thought process in writing one of my examples: Maybe that will help as well.

 

# of syllables per line	Rhyming pattern	Meter & where to repeat words	Hints of what should be used per line
2	A	aa	One word adjective with 2 syllables
2	A	bb	Different one word adjective with 2 syllables
2	A	cc	Different one word adjective with 2 syllables
2	A	dd	Different one word adjective with 2 syllables
9	B	xxxxaabbB	Any four syllables then aa, bb, single syllable word
9	B	xxxxccddB	Any four syllables then cc, dd, single syllable word

Tyburn Poetic Form Chart © 2019 Stephanie Abney

Here is my second one:

Satan

Cunning

Lying

Cheating

Tempting

Heartless trickster, cunning, lying, doled

Flattering lies, cheating, tempting, cold

                                                © 2019 Stephanie Abney

My “thought process” while I tried to figure it out: So, first I made a list of some adjectives (“ing” words) – more than I needed and then another list that could be used in lines 5 & 6 – then I started playing around with it, crossed off the words I didn’t want to use, which left me with 4 descriptive words and then I created lines 5 & 6, incorporating the words from lines 1 & 2 and lines 3 & 4, respectively:

Satan

Cunning

Charming

Lying

Raging

Cheating

Sneaking

Tempting

 

Words to possibly use in lines 5 & 6: Crafty, jealous, avenging, heartless, destructive, destroy, destroying, bitter, conniving, flatter, flattery, cowardly, trickster, tricking, tricky, malicious, deceitful, cold, sneaky, creepy, creep, reap, reaper, damned, persistent, tenacious, dangerous, rob, steal, louse, angry, anger

And I posted the finished product from this effort just under the chart.

READY? Go try this one out!! Cheers!!

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.

 

Day 15 ~ How to Write an "Ode" for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

 

Day 15 ~ How to Write an "Ode" for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

So, poetry folks ~ Today is a wash for me until much later but today the format is an ODE 

So . . . here are 3 links to online instructions on how to write an ODE ~ I'll have come back later to fix all of this, but you shouldn't have to wait all day to get started. Sorry - just LOTS going on over here. Sigh. 

How to write an ODE for beginners: 

https://artincontext.org/how-to-write-an-ode-poem/

6 tips on how to write an ode: 

https://powerpoetry.org/tips/writing-ode-poem

How to write an ode: 

https://whenyouwrite.com/how-to-write-an-ode/

Cheers!! 

Image by Bruno from Pixabay

Day 14 ~ How to Write a “Pleiades Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Day 14 ~ How to Write a “Pleiades Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ "30 poems in 30 days"

Today’s poetry form may be unfamiliar. I’ve only used it twice so far in the 14 years I have been doing this poetry challenge.

But before I get into the details of Pleiades poetry, I just want to give you a heads up to put on your deep-thinking cap for tomorrow – by special request, we will be writing an “Ode” poem, a type of lyrical poetry that addresses (usually via praise) a person, place, thing, or event. So, that will be tomorrow. More details then . . .

For today, the “Pleiades Poem” was created in 1999 by Craig Tigerman, Editor Emeritus of Sol Magazine, which appears to have been a poetry journal that is no longer in publication. At any rate, he named it for a star cluster in the constellation Taurus, “The Pleiades.”

Here is the TRICKY and FUN part ~ VERY specific!!

It has some interesting requirements. You can ONLY use ONE word for the title of the poem. It ONLY has ONE stanza that is SEVEN LINES (so don’t go creating additional verses – this form only has one verse). However, there does not appear to be any specific syllable or word counts.

The FIRST letter of each of the following 7 lines MUST start with the same letter as the first letter of the title of the poem. It makes me think of those families who name every one of their kids with names that begin with the same letter.

Just start each line with the same letter, kind of like a long run-on sentence, line by line, starting line one with a capital letter and ending line seven with a period. All other lines begin with a lowercase letter.

So this poetic form lends itself to a lot of alliteration!! Fun stuff!!

We will write ours as Craig Tigerman first designed it (others have tried to add syllable requirements, etc.), but Tigerman only said it had to be a single-word title, with seven lines, each line beginning with the same first letter as the title.

If you want some help coming up with words that start with the same letter, you can go here and choose your letter and find lots of words that start with that letter:

http://wordfinder.yourdictionary.com/words-that-start/

Another useful site: http://phrontistery.info/ihlstart.html Dictionary of Unusual Words – click on the letter of your choice, and you get a plethora of unique words with brief definitions.

A Pleiades Poem can be about ANYTHING, so long as each line starts with the same letter.

 

Here are a couple of examples, but personally, I think they are both kind of lame, but at least you get the gist of things, and I can’t wait to read what y’all come up with.

 

Determination

Decisive,
dependable,  
detailed pursuit of
desired outcome, so
decisions are made with purpose,
diversions are not an option,
develops a can-do attitude.

 

       © 2026 Stephanie Abney

 

Here’s a silly example: it’s one I wrote about cucumbers eight years ago:

Cucumbers

Crinkley edges,
crucnchy, crisp, from a
creeping vine, bearing
cucumiform fruits,
cultivated plant,
comes from the gourd family,
cucurbitaceae.

 

      © 2018 Stephanie Abney

 

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work. 

Day 13 ~ How to Write a “Brevette Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ “30 Poems in 30 Days”

Day 13 ~ How to Write a “Brevette Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth ~ “30 Poems in 30 Days”

So this LOOKS simple – THREE WORDS? Yeah, but it can be tricky ~ The Brevette ~ check it out!! It is especially tricky for me because I struggle with brevity! Titles are not required, but you may add one if you wish. I suggest underlining any titles to set them off from your 3-line Brevette poem.  

ONLY THREE WORDS? Yikes!!

There are a FEW particulars to this poetry form created by Emily Romano. Here’s a little grammar for you – I know you love it – this poem consists of TWO NOUNS & a VERB:

LINE 1: a subject (noun)

LINE 2: a verb (the verb has a space between each letter:  v e r b)

LINE 3: an object (noun)

They need to STAY in that exact order, and yeah, there is ONE MORE THING!! In order for the verb to show an ongoing action, it is spaced out, letter by letter. [That is a REQUIREMENT for the Brevette poetry form].

Whether or not you include a title is up to you, but otherwise, there is NO punctuation, and all words are lower case ~ I tried to use a larger font for the poems to make it easier to see that the verb HAS A SPACE between each letter!!

THREE WORDS – don’t be adding “helping verbs” or “articles” – that’s cheating. Coming up with a subject and an object for the nouns is surprisingly difficult. Seriously, this is trickier than it seems. So, here are quite a few examples, some better than others, and you can see I wrote these years ago – too tired to try new ones, but let’s see what y’all come up with!!! Cheers!!

            Example #1: (no title)

rainbow
r a d i a t e s
spectrum 

      © 2007 Emily Romano  (the creator of this poetry form)

 

Example #2:

“Knotted Strings”

patience
u n t a n g l e s
knots

© 2018 Stephanie Abney

           Example #3:

“Never Give Up”

dreams
c o m e
true

© 2018 Stephanie Abney

            Example #4:

“Crying”

eyes

l e a k
tears

       © 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

           Example #5:

“Keep Believing”

dreams

f o l l o w
passion

       © 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

(Image by kalhh from Pixabay)

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.

 

Day 12 ~ How to write a “Senses Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth 30 Poems in 30 Days. Cheers!!

Day 12 ~ How to write a “Senses Poem” for #NationalPoetryMonth 30 Poems in 30 Days. Cheers!!

So, basically, this “Senses Poem” seems like a simple, forthright poem. BUT it is open to several variations that can keep you busy with it for quite some time!! You can have lots of fun with this poem. There is no need to worry about rhyming or counting syllables, although it does have other requirements (basically to “fill in the blanks”), and it can be pulled together in several ways – try each of them, if you wish, or choose just one way to share your poems.

So first, everyone is familiar with the “FIVE SENSES” ~ sight, smell, hear, touch, and taste. 

But many have argued that there are SIX SENSES if you consider your mind ("I think") as one of the senses. 

Hence, we are writing a FIVE SENSES and/or SIX SENSES POEM today!! Cheers!!

I’ve added quite a bit of other information at the end because I LOVE the result of removing the articles and some of the unnecessary verbs (look at my final example to get the idea I’m trying to share with you).

Choose a topic and describe it using each of your six senses, one per line.

Here is a SIX SENSES format to follow, BUT feel free to rearrange the order of the various senses you use to describe your object/topic. 

  I  1.     I see ____________________________
2.    I smell ___________________________
3.    I hear ___________________________
4.    I feel (as in touch) __________________
5.    I taste ____________________________
6.    I think ____________________________

 

Now, if you want to concentrate on the FIVE SENSES, you can change “I see” to "It looks like," etc.

  

     1.  It looks like (instead of I see) _________________

2. It smells like _______________________________

3. It sounds like (instead of I hear) _______________

4. It feels like _________________________________

5. It tastes like ________________________________

 

So, you CAN just leave it like it is once you fill in the blanks (in any order using either five or six senses) and remove the numbers; you don’t need those. That will give you a great poem by just doing that.

 

OR you can remove most of the PRONOUNS, VERBS, and ARTICLES and get a new effect.

Think of a special place. Form an image in your mind of this place. Then complete the following statements.

Here’s one example, taken step-by-step.

(I grew up in Southern California and would go to the beach every chance I got)  . . .

First – fill in the blanks:

1.       I see ______________   the breaking waves

2.       I smell _____________  the seaweed-tinged air

3.       I hear ______________  the seagulls squawking overhead

4.       I feel (as in touch) ____  the wet sand squishing between my toes

5.       I taste ______________  the salty ocean water

6.       I think ______________  I’m back in my childhood heaven

 

OK, so if I remove the line numbers and get rid of the lines, it turns out like this:

 I see the breaking waves
I smell the seaweed-tinged air
I hear the seagulls squawking overhead
I feel the wet sand squishing between my toes
I taste the salty ocean water
I think I’m back in my childhood heaven

 
© 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

And that makes a nice poem BUT, if I remove most of the pronouns, verbs, and articles, then I get this one; also a very nice poem:

 

breaking waves
seaweed-tinged air
seagulls squawking overhead
wet sand squishing between my toes
salty ocean water
my childhood heaven

                                    

                                                                                           © 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

And that makes a new version of the same poem, and it’s pretty cool as well.

 

OR you can use the other format with the FIVE senses and follow the same steps; fill in the blanks, then take away the numbers and even remove the pronouns, select verbs and articles, and see what you get: 

 

1.    It looks like (instead of I see) _________________

2.    It smells like _______________________________

3.    It sounds like (instead of I hear) _______________

4.    It feels like _________________________________

5.    It tastes like ________________________________

 

So, there are a few different ways to approach this type of poem. Enjoy!!

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

 

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.