Jessica lives in Conway, Arkansas, and is an Alternative Learning Environment Teacher/Special Education Teacher in Morrilton, Arkansas at Southern Christian Children’s Home. One of the many passions in her life is advocacy for appropriate, educational, and functional services and programs for children with special needs. She is an avid reader and a lover and a writer of poetry. She is married with two children, a daughter and a son who is hard of hearing.
Inspiration
A former colleague dressed up for almost every “National Whatever Day”. We had car rider duty, so she encouraged dressing up on those days. I paid my dues (Proof below). Today is National DNA Day and also the 20th Anniversary of the Human Genome Project. ( Read more here: National DNA Day | April 25 – Calendar). To celebrate the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), aka, “the double helix”, and to honor the developer of the cinquain poem, Adelaide Crapsey (read more about her here: Adelaide Crapsey | Poetry Foundation), let’s celebrate our genes, even if our other pairs may be a little snug.
Process
Today’s poetry type is the cinquain, a poem or stanza composed of five lines. Two types are highlighted today, the American Cinquain and the Didactic Cinquain, with two examples provided.
- American Cinquain characteristics
- Unrhymed, five-line poetic form with 22 syllables
- Line One- two syllables
- Line Two- four syllables
- Line Three-six syllables
- Line Four-eight syllables
- Line Five-two syllables
- Didactic Cinquain characteristics
- Commonly used in elementary classrooms,
- Has this structure:
- Line One: One word (a noun, the subject of the poem)
- Line Two: Two words (adjectives that describe the subject)
- Line Three: Three words (-ing action verbs–participles–that relate to the subject)
- Line Four: Four words (a phrase or sentence that relates feelings about the subject)
- Line Five: One word (a synonym or a word that sums it up)
Before writing, list your qualities and features. Turn your flaws into a work of art as the unique original, genetically designed person you are.
Jessica’s Poem
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.
Jessica! I absolutely LOVED this invitation to connect with our ancestors. Thank you!
Me to a T
My veins
Run red with strength
Hold the fight to survive
Height and muscles – good peasant stock
That’s me.
Jessica, I think I wrote 3 poems before I found an angle that felt interesting to me. Thanks for your examples and idea! I would love to see what my students might come up with.
I think
it’s in my genes
to run far from conflict
at the frightful cost of losing
myself.
Oh wow. You said so much here. Nothing brings us to honesty like poetry. Sending <3
#relatable. It took me forever to figure out how to turn off my “flight” response as an adult. Loved this!
Oh Rachelle,
This could so easily be about me, too. The division of the cinquain into a single sentence works so perfectly here. Well done. You hit me squarely with this one.
Parents
gifted me with
narrow forehead: the wreck
of my career as a model.
Thank you.
Allison, beginning this poem with “parents” created an accusatory tone but who else is there to blame? The end with “Thank you” is fun. It could be sarcastic or it could be genuine gratitude. I think about my own features which may have limited my own modeling career!
<3 You are my definition of beautiful.
I miss you and love your thoughtful comments on my own poems and others’! ❤️❤️❤️ miss you!
Ah, Allison, this is a gem. I laughed and thought, thank heavens indeed… every day you are that exquisite model in the classroom! A far cry better a runway! And truthfully, your kids are lucky to have not only a fine teacher, but a gorgeous one at that. … who plays the accordion to boot! HA! Love you, Susie
I was hoping to spend more time with this one but the day got away from me. And, instead my struggles to have fun, I let myself watch Ted Lasso with no distractions tonight.
Unfun:
Time and energy—
Can’t seem to make it work.
Social drainage, mental languish:
Undone.
Your poem is perfect in this moment. Your slant rhyme with drainage/language is spot on. Unfun/undone is a gift to us all!
Laura, enjoy that Ted Lasso! That fourth line speaks to me after a long day’s work (or even a dinner with someone who just wants to gab). Thanks for this poem!
Laura,
You perfectly capture the diabolical dilemma of an introvert. We expend so much energy in our work we have little left for fun and recreation. Well done.
Jessica, I am opening your prompt too late (9:48 p.m.) but you pull me right in:
“let’s celebrate our genes, even if our other pairs may be a little snug”
I’ll set my timer and see if I can come up with something (??)
Thank you for the invitation.
freckles
acoss my nose
shared with my two daughters
brighten as the sun warms our skin
freckles
This one is as cute as a freckle. Looking forward to freckle season.
<3 *** (freckles)
Jamie,
This is so adorable! What fun to see your reflection in your daughters!
Hi again,
I post late on Tuesdays because of staff meetings and dance practice. Our teachers dance in May for our annual end of year multicultural show and it takes all of my last energy to get through. But I am happy I had a chance to write my poem, better late than never.
Thank you, Jessica!
Generations of black pride and passion speaks volumes. I was hoping to write something similar, but I couldn’t find a way to express it so succinctly and powerfully like you did. Terrific.
I love that last line, Stacey. “Heir,” indeed. We wrote “Where I’m from” poems today in class and this would be a great mentor for a stanza.
Stacey, this is beautiful! I love that you are from generations of “black pride and passion” And the names of your grandparents sound lyrical together.
I came back today looking for a borrowed line, and I chose your clever ending for my title, continuing the genetic theme of my poetry today.
Thank you, Denise! Glo (Gloria) is my mom and Patsy is my maternal grandmother; Preston is my dad and Kate is my paternal grandmother. I am honored that you were able to use my final line for your poem title today. Looking forward to some time to read and post.💜
Jessica,
Are you the triceratops??? Cuz, if so, that is the coolest thing ever. I mean, the T-Rex would be cool too, but that triceratops–speechless! I love both of your exemplar poems, but especially the American cinquain. Every line is a gem. I had a tough time with this one, but here goes…
Some of the things that created the enigmatic character penning this poem
Fat kid
turned athletic
listens, empathetic
Stubborn, suffer no fools,
paid dues.
Fierce!!! I love when the grown-up becomes the protector because of past sufferings. I have a real strong dislike for bullies for that exact reason. I bet your students know you’re empathetic.
Love this, Dave!
For me your last line speaks volumes. Very nice!
This is great, Dave! I love the combination of lines three and four: “listens, empathetic / Stubborn, suffer no fools.” You’re just what your students need (and they’re lucky to have you)!
I love that your title is just a tad longer, syllabically, than your poem. What a feat! And what a journey you take us on with your concise language. thanks for sharing!
The Dorseys
By Mo Daley 4/25/23
We are
children of the
Emerald Isle, freckled
red headed, pale skinned, silver tongued
siblings
We are
friendly and fierce
sardonic and gleeful
taciturn, droll, and kind-hearted
siblings
We are
losing hearing
pacing our heartbeats now
aging together grudgingly
siblings
Absolutely LOVE this, Mo! What a perfect homage!
That final stanza has me chuckling in understanding – yep! This is me, too. Love that “silver tongued” so much.
I love that you gave us more than one cinquain. You have a big family, right? The siblings deserve these 3 poems! Aging together is such a fun experience until we get tired of repeating what the others can’t hear. LOL. My sister is in denial that her hearing is fading.
🥰
I perhaps should have done more than one stanza, but this will do (my mom said I left too much out). I might make my students do this, as well.
Loonnnggg hair
Book nerd for life
Learned to let it go more
Workaholic/hermit cycle
Snark queen
Cara,
I’d love this idea of inviting students to do an autobio cinquain and wonder what they’d think of yours. So fun to start with the inventive “loonnggg” for the reader to slow it down and stretch it out when they read, and I like the sound of the “l” throughout with long, life, learned. I feel like hermit cycle can be a stanza as can snark queen! Just so much life in these lines.
Sarah
Snark queen! What a perfect pairing to end with!
I’m in love with that first line, “Loonnnggg hair” – how that long looks!
Cara, all of this! I love that you ended with “snark queen”!
Our church,
A refuge from
Bigotry, prejudice,
Othering, and intolerance.
Welcome!
Oh, Katrina. I like this “Our” so much and wonder if it exists or is a dream that this poem is stirring into fruition. How incredible for there to be such a place, and that last line is indeed an invitation for refuge.
Sarah
Your church sounds wonderful, Katrina!
Your church sounds like my church – truly, an “our church” – “Welcome!”
Isn’t it wonderful to have an all welcoming church! I wish more in this world would be a refuge from intolerance.
Thanks, Mom
my toes
are short, stubby
curved over like humpback
whales swimming in the ocean of
my socks
Rachel, this. poem! Love this image that you have crafted!
Wow! Rachel, what an image!! Holy mackerel! Little humpback whales in your socks!! Wow! Great description!! Susie
Rachel, this little poem is packed. Alliteration – short, stubby; simile – like humpback whales… and it’s a comical image. It makes me feel better too. My sister-in-law once said my feet are square.
Rachel,
Great title. I am thinking about Stefani’s prompt earlier in the month to title intentionally, and you have done it. That simile is perfect “curved over like humpback/whales” !
Sarah
This is so so fun and absolutely adorable!
This is so fun! I love that you accept your toes and blame your Mom. love the image.
Rachel, I am so grateful for the image your poem evoked! One of my besties has your exact toes! Can’t wait to tell her they’re humpback whales!😆😆😆😆
Rachel, this poem is great! So funny! I love “the blame” in the title and the clever and poetic image of the “curved” toes “like humpback / whales swimming in the ocean of / [your] socks.” Thanks for this!
I love all you share about your toes – from short, stubby to humpback whales in the ocean of your socks. Lovely, amusing image.
Jessica,
Thanks for the fun and unique prompt today! Took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about, and finally got it. Loved the allusion to Theia in your second poem, gave me such a sense of you. Loved the nod to left-handedness, too. And those pictures!! That is a lot of work!!
Stubborn,
she digs her heels –
(Doc Marten knock-offs,
chip off the ole’ block) – off
on her own.
Certain
to a fault when
she says: “No.”
…Or when she says: “Yes.”
…That digging in, that steel in
her eyes.
Reprise
of my eyes
as I size up
my own mother: doubting
that she has ever stood
in my shoes.
Wendy, you cleverly use imagery of digging in heels and standing in your shoes. Seeing the two images as reprisals also shows the efficient way that poets get ideas across with carefully chosen words arranged intentionally on the page.
Wendy, “that steel in her eyes” is an intimidating turn of phrase. That stubbornness will serve her well.
Wendy,
This cinquain exploration of mother-daughter dimension is so powerful and smart — that dialogue and that ‘digging in” and the heel and steel and stood are so fierce. The I and she and my blur in this genetic cinquain series.
Sarah
Absolutely love how you weave in ‘digging in heels’ and ‘stood in my shoes’ – wow! Two very strong women.
Wendy, I really loved these! The repetition of the “digging in” of the heels and the final realization (of how the speaker acted to her own mother) “doubting / that she has ever stood / in my shoes” is so well done. And the rhyme in “Reprise / of my eyes”! So good!
Jessica! I’m in love with those photos😆!! Fun! Thank you for the prompt today. I love that we have two options for the cinquain. I always enjoy didactic ones with my 5th graders. I will post after school.
💜
Jessica,
Thank you for the idea-generating prompt today. I love how you gave us both form and topic. Of course, I can’t seem to keep things simple, and with DNA being the focus, I thought I’d hit on each child (and us parents, too)
This Is Us
Family
everything
what life is all about
four kids, many different traits
Diverse
Jason
life of the party
storytelling is his vibe
wishes he’d lived in the 50s
Dad
Susan
tries to be the glue
wanting peace and unity
putting others first is her role
Mom
Elisabeth
bright ray of light
masking some darkness
blossoming into who she is
Energizer
Mallory
git-er done-er
up for most anything
so loyal yet edgy at times
Meticulous
Grant
vacuum of knowledge
curious about many things
keen communicator and simple
Genuine
Jack
loves the finer things
hard outside, soft inside
a tornadic presence most days
Jovial
Us
a cohesive crew
we have each other’s backs
someone’s always up and someone’s down
Family
~Susan Ahlbrand
25 April 2023
Susan,
This is amazing and these snapshots of your family are all so unique and full of love in the descriptions. Thank you fro sharing these snapshots of your family!
Susan, loved this treatment of your “genetics.” :). Thanks for introducing readers to your crew with such vivid language.
Susan, this is so neat. Now I want to copy your idea & write one of these for my family! I love your last stanza: “someone’s always up and someone’s down / Family.”
Love this crew of DNA cinquains, Susan. Thank you for introduce each one to us and showing where and how you fit among them as a glue that holds space for them to each be themselves and contribute to the family in their own way — curious, tornadic presence, blossoming. How wonderful!
Sarah
I used to wonder why this was so in my family: “someone’s always up and someone’s down” …family in motion, family alive and real!
Oh, Susan, brilliant choice to share your family this way. I love Jack! I think my son is your Jack! And I love Elisabeth, she’s my daughter too! Watching her evolve and yet stay within is something special.
I adore your gift!
Thank you, Susan! I love your “complication” of the task. Thank you for presenting your family. It sounds amazing. I love the final cinquain summing up the essence of your crew with “someone’s always up and someone’s down,” but regardless you “have each other’s back.”
This was harder than I thought it would be……
Cinquain
Brilliant
Black, Sharp, Aware
Sensitive, Strong, Loving
Daughter, Mother, Resilient
Sassy
Seana,
“Brilliant. black” phenomenal woman. That’s you! Love that alliteration and the alliteration in “sharp, sensitive, strong, sassy”!
It IS hard. I haven’t posted yet because my mind’s in knots! I love what you’ve done with sound here and the subtle alliteration. Also the line endings are great!
Seana,
Agreed! Hard to boil ourselves down to one mouthful — but you did a beautiful job with strong, vivid words.
Seana—- powerful voice! 💪🏽 I love that! Susie
Seana,
Love the punchiness of this meter with your word choice, which brings out the “sassy” while making space and holding for the middle line of “Sensitive, Strong, Loving”!
Sarah
“Sassy” – absolutely love this as the final word! And perfect ending to the “brilliant” beginning.
Love your list poem. Especially as you highlight each word beginning with a capital letter. All positive references.
[Jessica – I loved the “National Whatever Day” photos…so funny. And I had fun with the 2 cinquains. Thank you! Susie]
DANG THE GENES!
Fingers
crossed, twined,
defying, hoping, half-helixing
my doom-twisted genes.
Sigh.
by Susie Morice, April 25, 2023©
ORB-ITING CON MI PADRE
Dad’s eyes
blue whale azul
penetrating, swimming
through the helix into mine eyes,
he, me.
by Susie Morice, April 25, 2023©
Hey! First, sorry I missed your prompt day, too! I love how these two play with the beauty and terror of knowing how genetics works. That fingers crossed echoing the helix shape- gorgeous! I love the blue whale azul swimming- so much.
Ooohhhhh, Susie, I love both of your cinquains, but I am especially intrigued with your second one, and love the “he,me” at the end. “blue whale azul”…genius descriptors. I had to laugh at “my doo-twisted genes/Sigh.” I can hear your voice so easily in those lines. Marvelous poems!
Susie,
That first cinquain is a heartbreaker that reminds me of my dad’s hands and the hands of migrant parents I knew years ago. I love the Spanish title in the second cinquain. The use of “helix” in both poems ties the two into mirrors and windows of you and the poems.
Susie, that first poem? HEARD. Beautifully said in such a small space! (Loved your second one, too…but that first one…)
Woah, both of these are gold, Susie! I love the title on your second poem. And the imagery of the blue whale swimming through the helix… connecting you two. Gorgeous!!
Susie, your first poem is so poignant. Makes me want to know more.
”Blue whale azul” is a beautiful rendering of your beautiful eyes.
Susie,
You continue to wow me! I love both of these, but the second one is pure genius. Each time I read it, I note sometime else, another aha!
Jessica, what a fun topic…celebrating our genes! I’ve been celebrating our family sassery and desire for independence since the beginning of time, so this is no problem to celebrate a genetic flaw — I’m sure there is an element of personality that shows up in genes.
Navarrette —
sassy and independent;
creating, collecting, cooking.
This too shall pass.
Ancestry.
Amber, your second lines reflects the paradox many us are expressing in our poems today. On the one hand we want to be sassy and independent and on the other hand, glad that we are not. 🙂
I love these little snippets of what it means to be a Navarrette! Especially your 4th line, “This too shall pass.” Makes me think about how family & genetics are so much more than physical traits.
I love the 4th line. Causes me to think about its intent. Is it due to ancestry?
Jessica- thank you for hosting today! I like the invitation to try two different types of cinquain, so I did! I like how Light-Bright speaks to wide-eyed- so very sweet and sparkly- I can see this!
American cinquain
For my little one
your eyes
sweet brown, green stripes
observant, lingering
absorbing depths, sparkling delight
all soul.
Didactic cinquain
Emily
refiguring her adjectives right now
rediscovering, caring, transforming
you rearranged it all, and I’m so grateful
growing
Awww, Emily — I love these and the sweet love for that li’l darlin’! LOVED “refiguring her adjectives”… yup, I can imagine that. I’m so sorry I missed your prompt day. Dang! Things have been wild and woolly here..but all is well. Love you, Susie
Emily, LOVE these! The second was my fave, and I was intrigued and wanted to know more. Great poems! 🙂
So sweet!!! I love your description of your little one’s eyes – “absorbing depths, sparkling delight / all soul.” My baby’s are like this too!! Also “refiguring her adjectives” – definitely comes with becoming a mom!!
Jessica, this was just the prompt I needed today!
American Cinquain
sturdy
freckled speckled
thick hair once black now gray
body shrinking only in height
strong
Didactic Cinquain
Maureen
caring, joyful
walking, weeding, writing
puzzling about poetry prompts
laughing
Maureen- I really enjoyed these! I especially like how in your first poem, you framed the gray hair and shrinking body as strong. Yes, please! I get a deeper portrait, too, in the second cinquain with the addition of verbs- I see you out in the garden, counting syllables and laughing!
Maureen, what a happy pair! I love that I can learn so much about you with these. Haha, I’m shrinking only in height too. I love the important first and last lines and think of you in these words: Maureen: sturdy, strong and laughing. Beautiful!
Maureen — These are so uplifting… I LOVE thinking about you “puzzling about poetry…[and] laughing”… PERFECT. Susie
Oh, Maureen, I had to laugh at “body shrinking only in height” Your second cinquain reveals so much about your joyous spirit. Loved “puzzling about poetry prompts”. Yes, that’s it exactly. Thank you!
Maureen, the duo of cinquains is uniquely you. I love the weeding and walking and writing – the Ws are strong like you!
Maureen,
The struggle is real in these lines: “body shrinking only in height.” Love the alliteration in “walking, weeding, writing” and in “puzzling…poetry prompts.” The cadence us like walking through a poem in search of nature’s treasures.
Jessica, thank you for this prompt pairing writing with science. Since having my second daughter, I have reflected endlessly on the roles of genetics. Here is my American cinquain.
Reserved
Sharp-tongue. Wayward
Gold-dusted curls defined,
But wide hips fall in line. Almond, green
Eyes, wide.
Jordan- what a beautiful portrait of you, inside and out! I like the idea of being both reserved and sharp-tongued. Thanks for showing complexity in just 22 syllables!
Jordan, you’ve capture so many wonderful details about yourself here. I especially appreciate your Almond, green/Eyes, wide”…lovely descriptors and the words create a particular musicality to your poem.
Reading Tastes
True Crime
is not my cup
of tea; I prefer my
murders to be fiction instead
of real.
(Don’t tell
me that Lecter
is based on a real dude:
I can still maintain that he is
made up.)
_______________________________________________
Jessica, thank you for today’s prompt, your mentor poems, and your pictures! These cinquains can really paint a picture of us!
Wonderful to hone in on your reading pleasures – and, yes, please don’t tell me Lecter is real.
Ha! Scott, I totally relate- I cannot handle these kinds of shows- it’s so creepy! Or sad! And what was that sound?! But fiction? Sure, bring it on! Thanks for capturing this sentiment in so relatable a way!
Amen, bro! Real crime…egads… enuf already! Lie to me and tell me it’s all a dream…I can sleep now. 🙂 Susie
I kinda think he may be based on a real dude; but, hey, he can cook!
The “true crime” thing is crazy! We introduced a “Forensic Files” English elective this year and over 200 kids signed up. We had 18 kids sign up for journalism. the world is upside down.
Holy Moses, Dave! Really!?? 200 kids for Forensic Files!!! I have to tell my cousin this, as she watches FF every single night… it’s her go-to-bed drug!!! Holy smokes! Upside down indeed!!! Susie
You nailed it, Scott. Real life is scary enough; I don’t need my “entertainment” to scare the wits out of me. Every time my husband scrolls the guide on the TV and Silence of the Lambs is on, he stops. And I leave the room. I just can’t do it.
rain
scarce, forsaken
waiting, condensing, swelling
antagonizing indifference
torrent
The unpredictable precipitation patterns are truly frightening – the way your poem shifts from ‘scarce’ to ‘torrent’ with so much ‘antagonizing indifference’ in between is powerful.
Sarah — The anticipation of the torrent… oh lordy! When I think of you down there in tornado OK…egads… that “condensing, swelling” just gives me the willies. No torrents, please. Soft rains, yes. Hugs, Susie
Sarah,
Your cinquain captures Oklahoma weather. Having read several books about the Dust Storm days, I recall stories about the unforgiving droughts followed by deluges that washed so many folks’ homes and farms down the gully. The storms can be brutal. On more than one occasion I’ve pulled off the Will Rogers Turnpike because I could not see through the blinding rain. Around 1987ish my brother and sister-in-law were involved in a horrific car accident near Tulsa during a torrent of rain. It’s a miracle they survived. Now with climate change impacting weather the “antagonizing indifference” feels so much worse. All this is to say, I love your poem.
Oh, Sarah, from rain to torrent. That “waiting, condensing, swelling’ must be feeling quite frightening. Hope you’ll stay safe and dry.
Jessica, your prompt today raises questions for me about how important it is to leave a legacy worth imitating. In some ways, I feel honored and in others burdened because …
OK see my poem. To sorta, kinda be a cinquain I’ve hyphenated my first and middle names to be one word. This also is symbolic of the double deal of being named for two.
Forebearers’ Forecast
Anna-Jamar
Named for
Both her grandmothers
What legacies to uphold
Both were impressive upright women.
Distinctive in their way
Gracious ladies both
What a challenge
To be
Anna-Jamar
(The photo is not either of my grandmothers; just representative of the senior Black women of the 60’s.)
You name is a great tribute to your grandmothers. Yes, I agree that it can be a pressure to honor them in your life. “What a challenge to be,” indeed!
That is a legacy, to be named after two “impressive upright women” – and I have no doubt that you meet the challenge!
I love how you tell us about strong women in your life. I know how challenging it may feel to follow “impressive upright women.” I do think your legacy is no less though. You have touch so many lives. Thank you!
Leilya, it is the strong women in my life who give me to courage to talk about getting suspended from school for fighting and getting a “D” in college. They’d ask, “What did you learn?” then admonish me not got out don’t that again! It’s also the supportive community we have here on OpenWrite that let me know that we can be honest and still respected.
Thanks for noticing that refrain in my poetry. 🙂
Anna – How lucky to be named after marvelous grandmothers. Such a fine history wrapped in a name. I really liked the cinquain + reverse cinquain form you used. I have a young friend who’s named after her two grandmas: Ruby June. I even wrote her a song called Ruby June when she was a little kid. Susie
Ah, and what song would you write for Anna Jamar?
One of my grandmothers was a singer. The other couldn’t hold a tune in a bucket with a lid on the top. But…she knew all the words! Mention a hymn, and she could sing all four or five verses … not in tune … but all the words. We giggle about that to this day!
Inflated Air
Zero
Nothing Matters
Flatter the disasters.
Graffiti from Puppet pastors.
GovOrn.
Boxer, Wow, I feel you hear. “Nothing Matters”…I can feel the horror pour down upon us. Love the play with “GovOrn”. Your title is perfect!
Boxer,
This really resonates. “Flatter the disasters’ works on so many levels.
Thank you, Jessica, for this challenge on National DNA Day. “Overcommitted spirit” is a great description of you, it sounds like you are all in!
I couldn’t help but think of my mom at my age. I am so similar, and now I live near my sister (as my mom used to), my sister who can do everything under the sun, except sew.
like herhand spots
thin calves, convex middle
helps my sister with sewing tasksi’m Mom
Oops. I’ll again. Here is my cinquain:
like her
with spotted hands
thin calves, convex middle
helps my sister with sewing tasks
i’m Mom
Denise, finding mom’s features in your appearance is special I think. As I age, I look more like my mom, and for some reason, it makes me feel good. Thank you for sharing!
Denise, how wonderful that you are able to be close to your sister now. You’ve captured your thinness in a wonderful way and how you are able to help your sister as your mom once did. Dang, those spotted hands. I keep finding more and more. The worst thing about aging!
Denise, even though we know we carry the genes of our parents, it’s sometimes startling to see how very much, as we grow older. When I was growing up everyone said I looked like my mother. Nowadays I catch my father’s face in the mirror. The tenderness of helping your sister with sewing – such a loving legacy from your mom!
Denise,
Now we know what your mom looks like in this portrait of you. I’m built nothing like my mom. She was tiny! Love the alliteration in “calves” and “convex” and the inventive word “herhand.”
What a wonderful final line/synopsis really – “i’m Mom” …I love that the ‘i’ is lowercase.
Denise, I like that you described physical characteristics for the genetic cinquain but also showed hands that perform sewing tasks.
Artist
messy, imaginative
color mixing, splashing
compulsive, energetic, hungry, expressive
infinite
Susan, I love those four words in the fourth line–such great artist words. I’m especially appreciating compulsive and hungry and that ending. Wow. You have captured the artist in this beauty.
Susan,
Lovely portrait of you, the artist. I love thinking about you as having infinite ideas and ways to express yourself.
Oooh – infinite! Fabulous!
Yep, Susan, infinite. Both you art and your friendships will go on and on! Honored to have your art on the covers of my books. Seeing them remind me of us in your classroom AND your downtown studio! What I learn from you, I’m passing on. Thanks, friend.
Oh, wow, I had forgotten that Susan’s artwork was on your book covers, Anna. How exciting to hear that again. Lovely, Susan!
Susan, I like how you describe yourself. A true artist must have these traits and attributes I think.
Jessica, thank you for hosting today and sharing your pics (plus poem;)).
long legs
lashes, toes; sharp
nose, chin, wit; pointy el>
bows; foodie, traveler, learner
schätzi
Oh, Stefani, how precious this is! You have captured you. I love the long, sharp and pointy details. Your treatment of el>bows is great. Is “schätzi” a nickname for you? (I looked it up on Translate) 🙂
Stefani,
Brilliant play on “el> / bows” and so visually appealing. You can’t go wrong w/ “foodie, traveler, learner.” 🙌
love the pointy el>/bows (and that they split between two lines!)
Stef, you are a “schãtzi” indeed! I like how you structured your poem pointing to parts that are long, and especially sharp. Ditto the previous comments about “el>bow.” Thank you for sharing!
What a delightful cinquain to show your physical features as well as your interests. I love the pace your words are able to develop. Your end is provocative. I must investigate!
Jessica, thank you so much for hosting today. I love both of your cinquains. They let me learn more about you. I love “Light-Bright” showing your nature. I also tried to write both, but in the didactic one didn’t quite follow the suggested patterns of phrasing:
American Cinquain Poem
Brown-eyed,
Age-silvered hair,
With soft-spoken, clear voice,
Welcomes people and change in life
Human
Didactic Cinquain
A child
of Crimean Tatars,
a Ukrainian with genetic ties to Scythians,
Greeks, Romans, and Balkans,
all-inclusive
Leilya, I love that you have both here in such dichotomous ways, this adds power and emotion to your words. Thank you for sharing.
“age-silvered hair” is such a lovely way to say your hair color.
I love the broadness of being “human” in your first poem, and the specific DNA of the second with “all-inclusive”. (I’ve just been off reading about Crimean Tatars. Fascinating.)
Leilya,
I love the contrast in tone, subjective to objective, in these paired cinquains. “Human / all-inclusive” are the best words and what we must all strive to be. 🤗
Leilya, I was hopeful someone would do both forms side by side (a thought I had this morning before time got away from me). It’s interesting to see these two takes on DNA, one being softer and welcoming (like you!) and the other more exacting and pinpointing, yet both offering a glimpse of you!
Leilya, both of your cinquains show yourself so well. I especially like the adjectives in your first one. My favorite line in your second cinquain is “all-inclusive”. It’s clear that you know your heritage well and that it is rick and inviting.
Leilya, your double cinquains are delightfully revealing about you. You are so sweet and kind and soft spoken. I loved meeting you at NCTE and dinnering together.
Love how you land on “all-inclusive,” Leilya!
oops! forgot to include my poem with my comment!
ADOPTION
Children,
Our DNA
boasts gossamer strands of
hope braided with prayer and bits of
stardust.
Ann, Your words of “hope braided with prayer…” is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing today.
Ann, wow. This poem reads so differently without the title. I love the word “boasts”, “hope braided” and “stardust.” Beautiful!
Ann-hope, prayer, and stardust. Wow…
Ann, I love the imagery within the two lines of “boasts gossamer strands of/hope braided with prayer . . .” So beautiful!
Ann,
Beautiful image of adoption. I’ve loved the word “gossamer” since first seeing it in an Emily Dickinson poem.
Ann, the fact that our DNA brings so much hope for the future is indeed precious to all of us who have children. I love “gossamer strands” and the magic implied with stardust.
Ann, what a gorgeous poem. I love the “boasts gossamer strands” and “hope braided….stardust”. The title adds such an important understanding for the reader. Fantastic cinquain!
Just gorgeous, Ann!
It doesn’t get much better than
Jessica ~ Your cinquains made me smile (as did the pictures). I especially like your sandy hair streaked with gray wisdom. Wonderful!
Jessica, thanks so much for hosting today. I appreciate your prompt. I’m sorry I just had to vent today about a major flaw I must suffer from. Love your “overcommitted spirit”.
Almira Gulch Rides Again
selfish
spews hate, bans books
promotes a beer koozie
branded with her horrific face
wicked
Barb Edler
25 April 2023
Barb,
Grifters gonna grift, right? Can we contrast beer koozie w/ books for a moment? The contrast is real, as us “horrific face.” I wish these hateful people would have their evil ways manifest on their faces like Dimmesdale’s hidden sin.
Well Barb, I’m with you on this…what I admire most about this poem is your ability to contain the rage I sometimes feel at those who spew hate, ban books, and steal our children’s ability to trust that schools are places where they should feel safe.
Barb, thank you for venting here…do you feel our world is resembling a dystopian novel at times? It’s maddening and yet shows the power of words to guide our socio-cultural make-up, ugh.
Barb— yes! Sometimes meanness is on the outside, too!
Oh, wow, Barb. I hadn’t heard about this latest con. I just did a little research and found the ad. You have captured the hatred, and Almira Gulch is a perfect metaphor for her.
Barb,
I am so with you on this. I am always so frustrated with the recent book bans and movements of censorship. I love the contrast of beer koozie and books. It is so stark and horrifyingly describes certain places in the US right now very well.
Even the name sounds like trouble and clouds.
Barb – Fist pump! 💪🏼 I appreciate a good rant! Banning books and spewing hate deserves whammo! Thank you! Susy
Thank you for this prompt. It’s a nice change for me to work within a form instead of free verse.
Hemophilia
Invisible, nonclotting
Affecting any offspring
Changed my life forever
Legacy
Joanne,
I’m so sorry to discover this news. “Changed my life forever” magnifies the harsh reality.
Wow, Joanne, you really capture the problems with being afflicted with Hemophilia in your poem. The legacy part is especially haunting.
Joanne, thank you for introducing yourself so honestly. I think “Affecting any offspring /
Changed my life forever” speaks volumes about your “Legacy.”
Joanne— so much here in so few words. Legacy… truly a life changer.
Joanne, wow. Thank you for sharing this. I haven’t known I’ve known anyone with hemophilia, so I hadn’t given it much thought. But now I know you and how it has “changed [your] life forever” I appreciate the first and last lines, and how you have somehow cast a positive to the disease with “legacy.”
Joanne, that life changed forever is a heavy hitter. Poetry reveals so much of who we are. I am inspired by your courageous revelation.
Joanne…genetics can deal a terrible hand. “Changed my life forever”…changed hopes, dreams… I think of legacy here not just as heredity but what BECOMES because of it. A life impacting so many others in an immeasurably beautiful and positive way. There’s so much “invisible” story of overcoming in these poignant lines. <3
Jessica, Any excuse to dress up as anything is always on my radar. I love “Sandy hair streaked with gray wisdom.” I appreciated challenge to offer a genetic testimony via a cinquain (let’s just get to the point, shall we?)
The Bachelor (From My Failed Application)
~b.r.crandall
man boobs,
psoriasis.
destined for root canals,
varicose veins, purple feet, &
skin tags
Bryan, I can’t! You are brutally honest with yourself, ya think?
I adore you!
Mutual.
Ahhh, look how cute you two are! Love the photo!
Oh, wow! Very nice!
What a great shot!!!
Bryan, oh my, although I don’t have man boobs, I can relate to so many of the aging woes we must endure. Love your title.
Brian,
Yikes! When you put it that way, perhaps an audition for a pharmaceutical company is more in order. But what do I know lying over here w/ my sagging boobs plopped and choking off my oxygen supply.
LOL! This is an hilarious thread! Susie
Bryan, I am with Stacey! This is just brutal. You are a beacon of light for so many, including me. Best, Leilya
Well Bryan, you certainly paint a picture ~ if I were a teacher, I’d admire your attention to detail and then suggest you go back to your desk and focus on your strengths 😉
I’m laughing out loud! This whole string of comments is a stitch! Susie
…but tell us how you really feel!!🫣😁
Oh, my goodness, Bryan! Hilarious. Each line made me laugh more than the one before. For some reason “purple feet” made me laugh aloud. And that title!
let’s turn this around.
best spontaneous passerby joining writing at NCTE. welcoming smile. Awesome laugh. And plus you give the best hugs and cheek kisses. There. That’s more you.
Way to tell him just a few of his strengths, Kim!
Oh wow! Bryan…“To the point”… bam! Hey, we’ll all be there at some point… aging is a real booger… 1st hand fact. Thanks for the honesty. Ha! I’m avoiding the mirror tonight… giving myself over to fantasy and fiction. Susie
You’re so much more than that, Bryan. But, wow, those are some details.
Bryan,
Methinks you are being a little hard on yourself! But, this is absolute gold!
Jessica, thank you for the prompt today. National day ofs are funny to me, so this was a fun prompt. I also immediately thought of Kendrick Lamar’s DNA song. I will have to do my own version of this someday. Thanks for teaching me the different kinds of cinquains and who created them. Your descriptions are lovely. I especially love “sandy hair streaked with gray wisdom” – beautiful!
“German,
Norwegian, and
Mexican,” say my genes.
Symbolically, I’m many
more things.
Angie, I love the musicality of your cinquain, and your ending is what’s really important!
Angie,
Love these lines:
“Symbolically, I’m many
more things.”
Aren’t we all!
Angie, Beautiful poem. I love where you went with this today. Yes, “I’m many more things” Amen!
Jessica— fun prompt, GREAT costumes, and I love the fact that your (our) hair is streaked with wisdom!!
Born to Read
Tall girl.
Super speller.
Capricious coordination.
Thick glasses, long limbs, couldn’t catch…
Reader.
Gayle Sands
04/25/23
Gayle,
I love your title and the way “thick glasses” and “couldn’t catch” emphasizes your purpose at birth. I’m the same!
“Capricious coordination” is a funny phrase and lovely sounding on the tongue 🙂
Gayle, your best qualities seem much more important than how well you can catch a ball. I like how you create the contrast between your brains and brawn.
Gayle, such a sweet poem. Your title helps lead us through some of the reasons you were born to be a reader. I love “capricious coordination” and “couldn’t catch”
“Capricious coordination.” This makes me smile so!
Gayle, sounds like we were a lot alike except I wasn’t tall, I was clumsy, and I played outfield because I wasn’t the best catcher. I love learning more about my friends this way!
I thought I was reading of myself here for just a second, Gayle! Every line! “Capricious coordination” – alas – but what a phenomenal phrase!
Jessica,
Thank you for hosting and for two cinquain options. Your mentor poems helped me choose the one to use. I particularly love the image of a Lite-Bright toy your first poem evokes to honor your child. I chose the elementary classroom didactic form for my poem.
Ousted
Tukums:
bloated bigot;
abusing lying fear-mongering—
keeper of a misogynistic, discriminatory workplace—
fired.
—Glenda Funk
April 25, 2023
Glenda— yes!!! Wonderful summary, wonderful news!
I gotta say, I really love that last line!
Glendaaaaa, bwahhahahaaahaaa!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Love it and thank goodness for Tukums getting fired!
Glenda, yes, isn’t it wonderful! Love your poem. I almost posted something very similar. I love your word choice throughout especially the third line because that’s what has angered me the most. Your cinquain rocks!
Oh, good poem about this “bloated bigot.” Oh, I pray we don’t have to witness his next chapter in life!
hmmm wonder who you’re talking about? lol. Love this so much! Tukums to fired – fabulous.
Ain’t it sweet!?! Love that he’s only earned a childlike nickname next to all those horrible things.
You really painted a picture here, Glenda, beginning with his nickname! I heard the news last night. He was begging for it. Your descriptors are to the point.
Glenda, I was reading this morning before I had to leave and rush out for a meeting and this one gave me a good solid needed laugh before I left for the office this morning. Tukums. Fired.
Yowza! And ain’t it grand!!!??? Love it!!! Susie
Jenny
bookish, bookworm
quirky and sensitive
loves cats, iced coffee and sunshine
Kagan
Jennifer,
In these short lines I’ve learned lots about you. I’m a cat lover, too. Love the alliteration in “bookish bookworm.”
Jennifer, what a lovely self-portrait through words. Love the quirky and sensitive line and all that you enjoy, especially the “sunshine”. Is Kagan your middle name?
Kagan is my last name!
Jenny, what a sweet poem about you. It’s a nice way to get to know you with these adjectives and loves of yours.
Jessica, thank you for hosting us today for VerseLove. I never knew the difference between American and Didactic Cinquains! In a few short lines and minimal syllabiles, I know so much about you! If we were sitting by each other, I’d need to be on your right and you on my left so we wouldn’t bump arms when writing and sipping our coffee. Love this form!
Kim
water
Cancer the Crab
governed by moon and stars
ten yearly good alignment days
I pinch.
Kim, I love that you are “governed by moon and stars.” This is what feeds your poetic nature. And “ten yearly good alignment days” seems not bad at all. Thank you!
Kim,
Your poem is so gentle until that “I pinch” that’s such a surprising ending. Do you follow astrology?
“I pinch”— took me a minute, then I grinned!
Kim, oh, how I do love that end “I pinch”. Hey, I’m a Cancer the Crab, too. I guess I need to learn more about the “ten yearly good alignment days”. Here’s to the ones ruled by the moon and stars!
Oh, Kim, how funny! I can’t image you being a pincher!
“I pinch” !!! Love this
Ha! Love the “I pinch” especially as a last line. Just a hint of warning (almost too late). I’m curious about good alignment days – do they happen sporadically or all at once, according to the zodiac (love that I’m learning here).
Kim, I can’t help chuckling at the symbolism of ten yearly good alignment days (the other 355 being out of whack?). A water sign suits an island girl. A crab suits a Southern girl…not as in being crabby (gracious no!) but as in look out, y’all, I got some fierce and fearless spunk, when needed. “I pinch” is fair warning… for the rest of the creature is all tender heart. A gem of a poem, O moon-star salt marsh nymph of green glass beads!
I love that you took this direction! I know so little, but you have me intrigued. I hardly think you pinch!
Jessica, In my family the musical talent was passed down through the left hand, my mother, my brother. I love that you are embracing your gray. Me, too…with pride.
I am a Grandmother
Altered
state of being
fertility startled
by faces of me reflected
in you.
Margaret,
Our grandchildren really do change our “state of being,” don’t they?
Margaret, this is precious, this image resemblance. And the left-handed art gene!
Margaret— this is beautiful— and so very true. “Faces of me reflected in you”
“Faces of me reflected / in you” is so beautiful!!
Just love this!
I love how you reach the final point of your cinquain, Margaret. The title helps set the entire stage. Clever cinquain!
Reading through these and yours stopped me in my tracks with the idea of an altered state of being in “faces of me reflected in you.” Very insightful and clever poem.
“startled / by faces of me reflected / in you” is such a beautiful way to put this, Margaret. Isn’t that a miracle when we see those reflections?
Margaret – fertility startled! Such a visual and an abruption – one I hadn’t anticipated. And love that reflection of me in you at the end. Grandmotherhood must be delightful.
I adore this poem, Margaret! It is the truth – “faces of me” in the grandchild. It is wondrous. Fills you with awe. My youngest mentioned it recently, looking at his brother’s 17-month-old daughter and seeing traces of himself in his niece: “It is so unexpected to see so much of your own DNA in a little person.” Looking at our Micah is like looking in a mirror for his brother and me. She’s definitely her own person, however!
Jessica, I am captivated by those photos! Talk about going all out! You remind us that life is to be celebrated – and your poetry does just that. I have learned that the lovely simplicity of things isn’t always simple to achieve…like cinquains, for example. Yours work beautifully. Every word does pulls its weight to paint a visual picture and impart spirit. Your endings have a special shot of of power; they linger, like the last note of a song sung well, satisfying the audience to the point of sighing “aahhhhh.” I will revisit the form with my (ponderous) list of flaws once I whittle them down enough to fit in a cinquain – but for today, the Muse pulled in this direction so that is where I went. Thank you for this wellspring of inspiration.
Replication
Writing
my way through life
inherent gratitude
pulsing and poeming in my veins
poured out
That nice pattern of p-words wakes up my senses this early morning. You definitely have inherent gratitude in you. That’s what I love about you.
Fran,
Love the heartbeat in your alliteration: pulsing, poeming, poured. Keep spilling that ethereal ink!
Poeming in your veins – – truer line never written! You exude gratitude, and it spills over from your poems into our hearts. Contagious gratitude.
Yes, yes, and yes! I see this in you and feel it in me. You are an inspiration!
Fran, great title, and I love “poeming in my veins”. Yes, poured out is the perfect final line!
Oooh, “veins / poured out” is such a powerful image of giving it all you’ve got, and you do that in your poeming, Fran. This is gorgeous!
Fran, the pulsing and poeming as a part of you (in your veins) and the pouring out really encapsulates every bit of your writing – I feel it is a part of you and pours out into us with each poem!
Fran,
The sound, the rhythm, the ideas . . . how do you do it? This is marvelous.
Jessica, thank you for bringing us a prompt today that combines writing and history/science and for letting us get to know you a bit through your poems. How fun for your students to see all of the National Whatever Day costumes.
Composition
I am
double stranded,
a spiraling ladder
sprouting from parents one and two
endless
“double stranded” is perfect phrasing here
Kevin
Loved the cool image this created and the final thought: “endless”! 🙂
A perfect and seamless rendering, Jennifer! It seems effortless – which I know isn’t always the case. Such a great explanation of DNA in so few words!
I love the metaphor of a spiraling ladder. Aren’t we all? I feel a spiral in my ladder. Somedays I can’t keep up.
This is so you, Jennifer! Love your DNA explanation. Thank you.
Jennifer,
Excellent celebration of the two who became one and gifted us the one and only you!
Jennifer, that last word is perfect here. Endless – – infinite……forever.
I love the alliteration and flow of this. Wonderful! Thank you!
Jennifer, wow, you have really celebrated DNA Day. I think this one needs a larger audience. I love all the allusions to DNA, and that end of “endless” Beautiful!
The flow of your poem is smooth on the tongue. I also like how you bring genetics into it.
Jessica, this is fun! My cinquains are super silly…but they have set me up for writing fun this morning. Thank you!
Ah, Linda. It’s good to see you. Where are your super silly cinquains? 🙂
Music
syncopation,
down beats on our rhythm
a genetic disposition:
listen
Kevin
Syncopation and disposition! Love that this form allows multisyllabic words to stand out.
Loved this! As a fellow music lover, I always look forward to your poetic meditations on music; it’s clear that you have a genetic disposition to “listen” — what a gift it is!
Every syllable is like a perfect beat, Kevin. That last word, what it’s all about, in music, poetry, life…
Syncopation is one of my favorite words and rhythms to sing. Just a little off-beat makes you interesting.
Love every word here, especially:
“a genetic disposition:
listen”
Kevin,
Of course you wrote about music! Perfect poetic definition. Love “genetic disposition.”
Kevin—you managed to sneak in some rhyme so skillfully. Love that last word—a period for your statement.
Kevin, this is a brilliant little poem. The musical motive that you develop is clear in your phrasing. Listen. Great poem. Great ending.
Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it
Kevin, wow. This is beautiful. I especially love the “listen” to end your poem. It made me reread a couple of times. Listen is such a powerful imperative.
OOooooo!!! Yes! I think music definitely has a role here. Wonderfully stated.
Ooooh this is a favorite for today!! I’ve read it at least 10 times, feeling the beat. So awesome.
Wow. Ten times, read? Thank you so much. I hope you found rhythm in your day today.
Kevin