The Cinquainians : Forum : The Cinquain


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A Cinquain

13 Years Ago


Many people read a 5-line poem, and they don't know what to do with it. It's like a candle that went off too soon. Problem is not with the poem, it's with the reader's expectation. The expectation that there are more lines somewhere on the page.

A cinquain is a 5-line poem, and a 5-line poem is a 5-line poem. On the 5th line the poem ends. To enjoy it, the reading and expectation should stop at the end of the poem, and let your imagination take over. Check this out:

Ghost In The Room
He had to go away a while;
She had changed quite a bit,
When he came back home.
In the dark, she called him
By another name.

What is your imagination telling you about what happened while he was away? Don't forget that women sometimes are the ones in pain, but men go away more often, so they suffer the most.