Day 5 ~ Cinquain Poem (Pattern 2) for #NationalPoetryMonth and "30 poems in 30 days"

I’m a huge fan of Cinquain Poems. Now, before you rush off to write one, let me tell you a few things. I have seen several very specific variations on this poetry form. Some stress the number of words per line; others, the numbers of syllables per line; and even others give a specific purpose for each line.

American poet Adelaide Crapsey invented this five-line poetry form. Cinq is French for “FIVE.” However, Adelaide took her inspiration from the Japanese haiku and tanka (which we did yesterday).

Since there is more than one style of cinquain poem – we’ll call this one “Pattern Two.” For this version, pattern 2, we will be counting WORDS and not syllables. 

This short five-lined poem doesn’t have an actual title; rather, the FIRST line (one word) becomes the title.

It does not need to rhyme and in this version, you count the number of words per line and each line has specific requirements for what kinds of words to use:

1^st line ~ one word – the subject (or title) or your poem

2^nd line ~ two words that describe the title/subject

3^rd line ~ three words that express action

4^th line ~ four words that express a thought or feeling

5^th line ~ one word synonym for title (restates your subject using a different word)

Service

Helping others

Let’s work together

Bearing one another’s burdens

Love

                                  

                                 © 2011 Stephanie Abney

Love

Getting married

Having some kids

Working things out together

Family

                                                © 2019 Stephanie Abney

Okay, YOUR TURN!! Remember, it's all about the NUMBER of WORDS, not syllables. Go!

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.

Image of service: Pixabay image by Mohamed Hassan

Image of family: OpenClipart-Vectors by Pixabay

Day 22 ~ How to Write a Cinquain Poem for “30 Poems in 30 Days” for #NationalPoetryMonth

So, today – let’s write one of my all-time favorite poetic forms ~ Cinquain ~

I love this one so much because although I have enjoyed and dabbled in poetry (some rhyming and some not) all my life, it wasn’t until I attended a poetry workshop in the 90s and was taught a few specific poetry forms, starting with cinquains, that I realized how fun following a specific poetic form (like those I have been sharing with all of you each day) can be. 

Here is the poem I created that night which pretty much started me down my current poetry path: 

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

    © 1998 Stephanie Abney

I was taught one way of doing cinquains: following a specific number of syllables per line with exact requirements – (subject, description, action, thoughts/feelings and back to subject with a different word) and thought that was it, but have since learned there’s more. In the past few years I have shared “Cinquain – pattern 1” and then the next day, “Cinquain – pattern 2,” and thought that was it, but I keep finding additional varieties so I think I’ll try to give the directions to the three most common and also a link to help you pick and choose the style you want, or better yet, try them all out. Good idea?

Cinq is French for FIVE

 

The DICTIONARY says a “cinquain” is a short poem consisting of five, usually unrhymed lines containing, respectively, two, four, six, eight, and two syllables.

And it also says “cinquain” is a class of poetic forms that employ a 5-line pattern.

From poets.org: Cinquain: Poetic Form we read that the cinquain, also known as a quintain or quintet, is a poem or stanza composed of five lines. Examples of cinquains can be found in many European languages, and the origin of the form dates back to medieval French poetry.

So, basically, here is what I call Cinquain pattern 1: 

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 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) or your poem

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 title (restates your    subject using a different word)

Here’s a second example of that form: 

 

Poems

Feelings expressed

From down deep in my heart

So you know who I am I’ll sing

Word Songs

 

© 2011 Stephanie Abney

~~~~~~~

AND here is Cinquain pattern 2:

It has basically the same format except that instead of counting syllables per line, we are counting WORDS per line:

1^st line ~ one word – the subject (or title) or your poem

2^nd line ~ two words that describe the title/subject

3^rd line ~ three words that express action

4^th line ~ four words that express a thought or feeling

5^th line ~ one word synonym for title (restates your subject using a different word)

Here's an example of this style poem:

Service

Helping others

Let’s work together

Bearing one another’s burdens

Love

© 2011 Stephanie Abney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, on to what showed up as Cinquain pattern 3: 

Cinquain 3 – Poem with five lines. Certain number of words per line WITH specific requirements:  

Line1: A noun (basically, THIS is your title)

Line 2: Two adjectives

Line 3: Three -ing words

Line 4: A phrase

Line 5: Another word for starting noun

Here’s an example:

Babies

Sweet, precious

Laughing, babbling, crying

If only they stayed little

Adorable

© 2011 Stephanie Abney

No doubt, other variations exist – but this should do it for now on CINQUAINS!! 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.

“My Son Never Saw the Ocean”

Greetings - I decided I would share another one of my essays from the writing class I am taking. My instructor has already graded it (got 100%). Sweet. It's rather personal since it was a personal narrative essay assignment. I share it in hopes it will touch hearts and help others.

“My Son Never Saw the Ocean”

by Stephanie Abney

 

My delightful, active and previously healthy ten-year-old son, BJ, lay silently on the doctor’s examination table. He was pale, clammy, feverish, nauseated, and his lips were devoid of color. “I’m sending you to a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist. Do you know what kind of doctor that is?” our family physician asked. I knew. He didn’t have to say more.

          At the hospital BJ received life-saving blood transfusions while he endured one test after another, including a spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration. The following day the doctor spoke the words that forever changed the lives of everyone in my family, “I’m very sorry to tell you this, but your son has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.”
         Faith, hope, and love became our lifelines. Every moment became a memory. We were the recipients of dozens of acts of service. As news of BJ’s illness spread, so did the number of people who would be there for our family. Not only did they touch our lives, but BJ and his courage touched the hearts and lives of everyone who he came in contact with him.

 

          BJ and I soon became “regulars” at the Cancer Clinic and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. On the way to the clinic we made up silly songs. Once inside, they would call him back, hook up the plastic bag filled with chemotherapy drugs to his port-a-cath, a direct line to his bloodstream surgically implanted into his chest. Six hours later, we made the 45 minute drive home, usually in silence, followed by a great deal of vomiting and misery for BJ.

It wasn’t long before BJ came to me holding out a clump of his gorgeous tow-head blond hair, “Look, Mom.” Soon, he was completely bald. “Well, at least it will grow back,” he said optimistically. BJ was known for looking on the bright side. It made things easier.

          The next Sunday BJ was well enough to go to church, which was rare. Smiling in their seats were several men in the ward and some boys in BJ’s class who had shaved their heads, years before the look became popular. BJ smiled and said, “Swell,” one of his favorite words.

Back at the hospital, “So, what’s going on in here?” a nurse asked as she poked her head into BJ’s room after hearing little chirping noises. BJ was full of fun, even under dire circumstances and seemed to be a magnet, drawing friends and hospital personnel into his room. BJ had a quick smile and a kind word for everyone he met. He made time to talk to the elderly and to little kids. BJ was a favorite uncle among his nieces and nephews.

Whenever the doctor asked BJ how he was doing, BJ would always reply, “I’m swell.” More than once I overheard the doctor leaving instructions at the nurses’ desk telling them to monitor him carefully because he never really complained and they would have to be watchful.

          When times were good, BJ went to school, making lasting friendships. His art work won “Best of Show.” He was loved by his fellow students and his teachers. New students told me that BJ was the first to welcome them. He held doors open for the girls. One boy said, “BJ brought the art of being a gentleman back to campus.”

Sometimes BJ was in an aggressive phase of chemo which made him violently ill. He’d be too weak to get out of bed. Other times, his chemo was part of an oral dose maintenance phase when could do more things. The summer BJ was 14, he felt well enough to fulfill the requirements needed to earn his BSA Eagle Scout award. He made improvements to a local bird sanctuary for his Eagle project.

After battling cancer for five years, BJ rallied. We dared to think this was behind us until he complained of pain in his eyes, hip and knee. The doctor couldn’t find anything. BJ’s blood tests were in a fairly normal range. We were sent to an ophthalmologist who tried to address the pain in his eyes. BJ even received injections directly into his eyes. The infection remained.

Our ophthalmologist made arrangements for BJ at the UCLA Eye Center in California so a specialist could look at the infection in BJ’s eyes. The thought of seeing his widowed grandpa in California where I grew up and getting his first glimpse of the ocean made him excited for our trip. (We always seemed to visit at Christmas and never went to the beach). BJ got the wind knocked out of his sails when the specialist found leukemia cells in BJ’s eyes.

“This sucks,” he said as we walked to the car. It was one of the rare times he expressed how discouraged he was. It was April of 2000. I couldn’t convince him to go to the beach after that. We returned home to Arizona without BJ even dipping his big toe in the ocean.

The doctor who had treated him with great care for five years gave BJ less than a 5% chance of survival even with an aggressive chemotherapy protocol. Our courageous son was done fighting. He refused treatment, with our support.

Six months later, our precious son, Brian James, tiptoed on the edge of this life before quietly slipping into heaven, two months after his sixteenth birthday. BJ lived six months longer than the doctor predicted. I think it was BJ’s gift to us. All the seats in the Stake Center were filled, to the back of the cultural hall and even up on the stage, when we held BJ’s funeral. He had touched many lives in his short lifetime.

I treasure every memory of my son. I will always miss him, until we meet again. In the meantime, I see a handsome blond, blue-eyed young man doing a work for his Heavenly Father that only he can do. The Lord needed a faithful young man who is as tough as woodpecker lips. And He found one in BJ.

BJ left a legacy of faith, hope, and love. I will always be grateful that God trusted me enough to be BJ’s mom, even if it was only for one short season. I know I will see him again. How am I doing? Surprisingly, “I’m swell."

© 2015 Stephanie Abney

* And if anyone is interested in more of BJ's story - here is a 5 minute "Digital Story" I made of him a couple of years after he passed away ~ "Standing in the Doorway"