Constellate

Constellate: A Crapsey Cinquain*

Bodies
from two to one,
fused, bonded, tied, combined,
‘neath heaven, ‘bove earth, makes one more
human.

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©2016 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.

Photo credit: Unsplash.com

Word Inspiration: Sarah Doughty of Heartstring Eulogies (Thank you, Sarah!)

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*Crapsey Cinquain, one of the most popular modern variations of the cinquain was created by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey, 1897-1914. In 1909 Ms Crapsey became interested in Japanese poetry. In her study notebook she lists tanka and haiku translations from which she developed a set form which she called the “Cinquain”. In some poetic circles this form is referred to as the Crapsey or Crapsey Cinquain, in others, particularly on-line it is simply referred to as a Cinquain. (The latter could be misleading since technically the term “cinquain” is defined as any poem or stanza which is 5 lines.

Crapsey Cinquain is:

• a stand-alone poem, a complete poem in 5 lines. It can be written in a chain, but each cinquain should be able to stand alone.
• syllabic lines in a pattern of 2-4-6-8-2 syllable per line. The original poems were mostly iambic.
• often composed with a reflective theme
• unrhymed.
• always titled. The title almost acts as a 6th line.