posted November 21, 2007 11:13 PM         

What it is:

• a stanza of five lines; specifically, one that has successive lines of two, four, six, eight, and two syllables.

  The traditional cinquain is based on a syllable count.

• line 1 - 2 syllables
  
• line 2 - 4 syllables
  
• line 3 - 6 syllables
  
• line 4 - 8 syllables
  
• line 5 - 2 syllables

  The modern cinquain is based on a word count of words of a certain type.

• line 1 - one word (noun) a title or name of the subject
  
• line 2 - two words (adjectives) describing the title
  
• line 3 - three words (verbs) describing an action related to the title
  
• line 4 - four words describing a feeling about the titlem, a complete sentence
  
• line 5 - one word referring back to the title of the poem
  

some examples can be found here: http://members.optushome.com.au/kazoom/poetry/cinquain.html

Cinqku, lanterne, tetractys, and quintiles are examples of variations of the Cinquain type of five-line image form. Other quintain forms can be in the style of English quintets, individual French cinquains, individual Quintillas, five line blank or free verse and Fib (poetry)in its five line version.

Adelaide Crapsey and William Soutar are perhaps the most well-known poets of the American cinquain image form. Cinqku is a fixed-form five line tanka or cinquain image poem with no title, 17 syllables, with a surprise or turn in line 4 or 5. This concise form was created by Denis Garrison, an American poet.

Lanterne is a five line quintain verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.Each line usually able to stand on its own as a phrase,and the poem may or may not have a title which sometimes forms an integral part as a 'sixth line.'

A tetractys is five-line poem of 20 syllables with a title, arranged in the following order: 1,2,3,4,10.with each line standing as a phrase on its own. This form was created by the late English poet Ray Stebbings.

Quintiles are multiple American cinquains, centered on a common theme, that are linked to form a longer poem. The tanka in its modern English form is the basis of each of the quintain image forms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinquain

posted November 21, 2007 11:16 PM         

It's simple. Take the last line from the last cinquain posted and make it the first line in your own cinquain.

posted November 22, 2007 12:44 PM         

that's funny...i wrote that thinking of "fire" as one syllable. I'm not going to abuse my poetic license so here's the correction (which i've ended up liking better anyway) :

posted November 22, 2007 09:53 PM         

(most likely not proper but the sentiment remains)

------------------
~
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted November 23, 2007 03:19 AM         

You three are good!!!

juni, sentiment is really all that matters .
And I love a rule-breaking Aquarian.

posted November 24, 2007 01:53 AM         

M ask kin
A bond within
S ad faces, dripping tears
K ids, brothers by prick of a pin

posted November 27, 2007 11:28 PM         

*edited to add:

hah! That combination of letters reminds me of a forest...