the dirigible plum

Haiku and Cinquain #NaPoWriMo18 #NPM2018

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Haiku

Outside my window
A tree holds fast to dead leaves
Even though it’s spring

 

Cinquain

Tree’s work
Release its leaves
Create space for new growth
But the tree outside my window
Resists

 

Notes: Today I tried two syllable exercises from a chapter in Stephen Dunning and William Stafford’s terrific book, Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Exercises.  The Cinquain is especially pleasant to work with: five lines with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/2.

getting the knack

 

national poetry writing month 2018

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Elisabeth Ellington

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Comments

4 responses to “Haiku and Cinquain #NaPoWriMo18 #NPM2018”

  1. glenda funk Avatar
    glenda funk

    I love that you paired the haiku and Cinquain together because it’s fun to compare these two forms dealing w/ the same subject. I think I have that book. I need to look for it.

    Reply
    1. Elisabeth Ellington Avatar
      Elisabeth Ellington

      I was trying to write a shadorma too, but I lost patience with it. Maybe a different topic would work better. Getting the Knack has so many fun exercises in it–plus Stephen Dunning and William Stafford! It’s a delight to read.

      Reply
  2. Amanda Potts Avatar
    Amanda Potts

    I think you and Glenda must have hijacked my brain: today I had students play with haiku, cinquain and skinny poems. We had fun. And I like how you have approached the same subject here with similarly syllable-based forms. Fun.

    Reply
    1. Elisabeth Ellington Avatar
      Elisabeth Ellington

      I’m so glad you had your students play with those forms! And even more glad that they had fun!

      Reply

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