Five Cinquains

Posted on August 1, 2003 in Poems

A cinquain is a distinctly American verse form invented by Adelaide Crapsey as a response to haiku. Where the latter is based on Japanese patterns of speech, the cinquain attempts to reproduce American cadences.

Cinquains contain five lines, of two, four, six, eight, and two syllables respectively. I wrote and tore up a few last night:

1


Of teeth

I know too much.

These gleaming ones are fake.

The wrecks of the real lay inside

and ache.

2

Pig’s ear:

smoked, soaked in brine,

dried to brittle leather.

Dogs chew, cats lick, the late pig re-

poses.

3


They say

childless means no

marriage….A rock is Not

— unless it is squared to fit a

church wall?

4


Dubya

Bush lies to us,

hides his pocket treasons.

His followers don’t cogitate:

they ape.

5


We choose

to be low slaves.

Therefore our bondage meets

Libertarian and Christian

morals.