#OneWordChallenge – nothing
Examining the Topic
We take maps for granted – shame on us. Many of us barely remember how to read a map. We follow along with our car on the dashboard which is always going straight up, no matter what the direction. We check out a location on the map by spinning our cursor so that we can go on a virtual tour which includes street names imprinted on the roads.
Writing the Poem
Who knew there were so many styles of syllabic Japanese poetry? Even though I gave a cursory nod to cinquain and haiku poetry when I taught fourth grade, all I remember is that haikus had something to do with nature.
There’s more to it. Some forms work well with emotions, some with nature. I can’t keep them all straight in my mind.
When I saw Tuesday’s prompt of “Maps,” I panicked. Definitely no emotions in a map for me unless I’m lost. Then I’m angry. There’s no way I can go down that road, Siri. It’s one way and cars are coming! Quick pull into a parking lot! (That happened to me at night in South Bend, Indiana, where I’d never been, late at night – like around 8:00 pm, with my frantic brother in the passenger seat.)
They are not an act of nature, although hurricane and other weather maps chart acts of nature. Firemaps pinpoint the fires.
HELP!
Colleen gave me some guidance, so I’m sharing it with you, for those of you who are new aficionados like I am.
Marsha, I would begin with a form that appeals to you the most. The cinquain would be a good one to start with. The rules are more forgiving than the Japanese forms. Work with this form for a couple of weeks. Make the last line of your cinquain the most important. This is where you change your focus away from the drama of the first four lines. That last line should be a surprise. To begin, try making a list of the things that the word “maps” make you think of. You know, like traveling, unknown journeys, etc. Then, work with your syllables on https://www.howmanysyllables.com/words/finally, click the workshop tab. The program counts the syllables for you. (I use my fingers, but we won’t go there.) Let me know how you are getting along. ❤
Colleen Chesebro
Westward
Eighteen- O – Four
Hand drawn map, squiggly lines
Imagine Lewis and Clark with
Nothing
Dirt trails
End at raging river, no bridge
Cliff ahead, make U-turn
Imagine It
Siri
Cinquain & Reverse Cinquain = a Mirror Cinquain
Marsha’s Map Brainstorm
Maps – brainstorm – writing – outline, road maps, floor plans, old maps, land ownership, businesses, topography, squiggly lines, drawing, hand-drawn, satellite, car zooming down road taking pictures, war map, Google, Bing, 3 D, MapQuest, cartography, charting location, live traffic, dynamic imagery, arrival time,
Colleen’s Cinquain Cheat Sheet
CINQUAIN: A cinquain is a form of shape poetry that looks great centered on the page. The required syllables needed for each line give it a unique shape. The cinquain (aka the quintain or the quintet) is a poem or stanza of five lines.
The Crapsey cinquain is a five-line, non-rhyming poem featuring a syllable structure of 2/4/6/8/2. Choose words that create drama which builds into the fourth line. Remember the turn occurs on line five, the most important line. This is where you change your focus away from the drama in some interesting way. Surprise your readers!
The Crapsey cinquain has seen several variations by modern poets, including:
| Variation | Description |
| Reverse cinquain | a form with one 5-line stanza in a syllabic pattern of two, eight, six, four, two. |
| Mirror cinquain | a form with two 5-line stanzas consisting of a cinquain followed by a reverse cinquain. |
| Butterfly cinquain | a nine-line syllabic form with the pattern two, four, six, eight, two, eight, six, four, two. |
| Crown cinquain | a sequence of five cinquain stanzas functioning to construct one larger poem. |
| Garland cinquain | a series of six cinquains in which the last is formed of lines from the preceding five, typically line one from stanza one, line two from stanza two, and so on. |
Related Posts
- How to Run a Successful Writing Challenge for Four Years Counting Interview #5 Colleen Chesebro
- A Nonet Spring’s Gifts Colleen Chesebro Tanka Tuesday
- Form Poetry Cheat Sheet Colleen Chesebro
- Worth the Struggle #Haibun Tanka Tuesday
- Active Problem Solving #Haibun Tanka Tuesday
Contact Me
If you know of someone who hosts a writing or photo challenge and would like to participate in my interview series on challenge hosts, feel free to email me at tchistorygal@gmail.com.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
20 responses to “#Cinquain Poetry: Reach Your Destination with Maps”
What a fun post this was Marsh. You did a fabulous job, and loved the sharing of the journey there. Two things: I never trust digital maps to take me somewhere without my looking at a full map first. I’m a great navigator and enjoy reading real paper maps. Secondly, like Colleen, I count syllables on my fingers too LOL ❤
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Funny girl. I can easily count up to two or three syllables, which gets me through a modern Haiku. Seven is a little more challenging because it takes two hands, so I have to stop typing, but I can manage it. 🙂
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Lol 🙂
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[…] Marsha Ingrao […]
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger for all Genres as well as craft books and commented:
Really like this, Marsha!
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Thank you so much! I’m honored.
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I love it! You made smile, nothing compares to a hand-drawn map!
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Thanks so much, Elizabeth. How many we’ve drawn in our day. All out of proportion, at least mine always were.
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Excellent Marsha and a great reminder how hampered and courageous those early explorers were. I love looking at paper maps spread out on the table.. some may be out of date but you only see the full breadth of a country and your travels when viewed that way..x
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Sometimes it’s the only way.
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A great post, Marsha. I love tanka poems and also write a lot of freestyle and rhyming verse poetry.
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Thanks Robbie. Do you post it or are your poems in your collections – or both? Writing poetry has always been a real challenge for me. I don’t feel enormously deep or emotional, but once in a while I feel like I score.
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HI Marsha, I do post, but I haven’t written a lot of poetry lately. I have been so busy with my book and the short stories for the two anthologies I’m participating in. I also have a collection with poems with another South African poet, Kim Blades.
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Wow, you are busy! Super Woman!
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You did it! Well done! We used to live Great Falls, MT. My husband got his degree in history form there. Lewis and Clark was his speciality! I like the way you collected your thoughts. You “mapped” them out well. Sorry… I had to say it! ❤ 😀
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LOL, that’s a kind of mapping. In teaching we call it mind-mapping, and it is the first step in the writing process, of course. This challenge definitely expanded my thinking both about maps and about the writing itself. It’s such a great challenge and I love your enthusiasm and helpfulness. I have to admit, that I get cold feet before I jump in and give it a whirl.
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No way! This is the challenge that expands your creativity. Experiment and have fun. ❤️
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Way! It does expand my creativity, but that doesn’t mean I’m not afraid to jump in and try it. 🙂 Narrowing my decisions about what kind of poem to write helped focus me and get me going.
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Perfect! I love the challenge of these forms. ❤️
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Me too!
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