30 May 2006
Cinquains de Mayo
Two of us are suffering from writer's block tonight. Katherine has a good excuse though. She has to write two poems in a particularly sadistic verse form called the "cinquain." Here is the structure:
Line 1 - one word of two syllables (may be the title)
Line 2 - four syllables describing the subject or title
Line 3 - six syllables showing action
Line 4 - eight syllables expressing a feeling or observation about the subject
Line 5 - two syllables describing or renaming the subject
Yawn. I'm not sure why her teacher thought this would be an appropriate or meaningful exercise for third-graders. And I'm not sure why I thought this would be an appropriate or meaningful post for my readers. I will leave you with this awesome haiku poem that I wrote at age 10. It was published in the school district's elementary literary magazine, Salamander Soup.
Oh! Nightengale
Why must you inspire my neighbor
To screech with his voice?
Wait---This just in---William put his lollipop in the refrigerator thinking it would turn into a popsicle---Does that redeem me?
Line 1 - one word of two syllables (may be the title)
Line 2 - four syllables describing the subject or title
Line 3 - six syllables showing action
Line 4 - eight syllables expressing a feeling or observation about the subject
Line 5 - two syllables describing or renaming the subject
Yawn. I'm not sure why her teacher thought this would be an appropriate or meaningful exercise for third-graders. And I'm not sure why I thought this would be an appropriate or meaningful post for my readers. I will leave you with this awesome haiku poem that I wrote at age 10. It was published in the school district's elementary literary magazine, Salamander Soup.
Oh! Nightengale
Why must you inspire my neighbor
To screech with his voice?
Wait---This just in---William put his lollipop in the refrigerator thinking it would turn into a popsicle---Does that redeem me?
