Wondered

Are cinquains the

Same today as the past?

Beautiful, yet are different

Let’s share.

I just wrote a modern cinquain! Modern Cinquains are very similar to the Japanese Haiku. They both focus on syllables to create a flow and feeling an author is trying to share. Today, let us write a Modern Cinquain and have some fun.

As we learned in our summer 2022 issue, Haiku follows a pattern of three lines that have a 5 -7- 5 syllable flow. Haiku often focuses on nature and the seasons of the year.

For example:

The breeze is stronger

The leaves turn color and fall

Lovely autumn time

The Modern Cinquain, which was adapted from the Haiku, allows the author to write about something they like or connect to and can stray from nature. For example, you can write about your pet, a friend, a favorite sport, or tell a funny, rhythmic story. This type of poem has five lines and follows a 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllable pattern. See if you can find the pattern within my poem:

New Friend

Though very shy

She supports me daily

She’s my sweet Boston Terrier

Olive

Now it is your turn to have a little poetic fun. Before you begin, think about these tips:

• 1.  Write about what you know and enjoy most.
• 2. List the subject and things about it. Before I wrote about Olive, I wrote a list of everything I knew about her. I wrote describing words, action words, and words using the five senses.
• 3. Write how many syllables each of your favorite words have: Olive (2 syllables), Boston Terrier (5 syllables), very shy (3 syllables).
• 4. Finally, I strung the words together to tell a story through the modern cinquain about my new dog, Olive.
• 5. Remember to follow the pattern and count the syllables as you write your Modern Cinquain.
• 6. Plan, Practice, and Play!
• 7. We, at Magic Dragon, would enjoy reading your submissions in the future. Enjoy!