A  cinquain poem has five lines. The word comes from the French cinq, which means five.  The best-known form of cinquain poetry was created in the early 1900s by

a poet named Adelaide Crapsey. These cinquains are similar to haiku in that the rules for writing them are based on syllables.

 

Cinquain poems have the following pattern:  (and this is the pattern I've followed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Line 1 - 2 syllables

      Line 2 - 4 syllables

      Line 3 - 6 syllables

      Line 4 - 8 syllables

      Line 5 - 2 syllables

 

 

An alternate version of the cinquain poem, often called a “word cinquain” is based on words, instead of syllables. “Word cinquains” have the following pattern:

 

    Line 1 - 1 word

    Line 2 - 2 words

    Line 3 - 3 words

    Line 4 - 4 words

    Line 5 - 1 word

 

There are no specific rules about writing a cinquain other than that it must have five lines and the correct syllable count (or, if writing a word cinquain, the correct word count).  

Fresh air,

 

Touching my cheek,

 

Whispering through the trees,

 

Carrying your song in the clouds,

 

Soft wind.

 

 

 

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