Cinquains

Most of the poems we read are in two of these usual forms:
1. couplets (aabb)
2. quatrain (abab)

My boys obviously enjoy poems that rhyme. They will always "complain" when we read a poem that doesn't rhyme. But recently, we came across a few that we rather liked. They were from a poem book called Butterfly Eyes and Other Secret of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman. (Thanks tjm! for the recommendation!) Quite a number of the poems are free form, and one particular one uses the cinquain form (unrhymed: 1 word, 2 words, 3 words, 4 words, 1 word... or 2 syllables, 4 syllables, 6 syllables, 8 syllables, 2 syllables... I found several definitions!). Sidman's poem were also all in riddles. That made it even more interesting for the young ones!

We thought this form sounded fun. My boys were inspired and subsequently came up with a few poems of their own using this form. Here is one by B (not strictly cinquain).

A ball.
A ball rolls.
A ball rolls into water.
A ball rolls into water and floats away.
Whoa!
Where did it go?

This one by B is a more strict syllablic cinquain.

Horses
Walk, trot, canter
And gallop. These are gaits.
They are different ways horses move
About.

More on B's blog :-)