Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Cinquain Poetry Prompt: The Superposition

By Heather Eure 25 Comments

cinquain superposition poetry promptRemembered as the inventor of the cinquain, Adelaide Crapsey’s poems were published posthumously in the twenties and thirties. During that time she was praised by anthologist Louis Untermeyer as “an unconscious Imagist,” then by literary critic Yvor Winters as “a minor poet of great distinction.” He believed her poems remained “in their way honest and acutely perceptive.” Most anthologies published after 1950 however, even those of women poets, neglect to include her.

Adelaide read English and French translations of Japanese tanka and haiku and wrote extensive notes on Anthologie de la Littérature Japonaise by Michel Revon. Michel’s exegesis of the poetic forms and the cultural background and significance sharpened her interest to produce a new form of poetry.

The cinquain resembles the haiku in its juxtaposition of images. Although short, “it must contain two elements, usually divided by a break marked by what the Japanese call a ‘cutting word’ (kireji). One of these elements can be a broad condition such as stillness in a landscape, the end of a season, and the other element may be a momentary perception. For the haiku to be effective, it must leap with a spark of the sudden perception of a truth, which then leads to an awakening or enlightenment.

Some of Crapsey’s finest cinquains involve this same idea of superposition or “one idea set on top of another.” Her poem “Amaze” incorporates a superposition of ideas or a crisscrossing between the ephemeral and the eternal, the still and the flowing.

I know
Not these my hands
And yet I think there was
A woman like me once had hands
Like these.

—by Adelaide Crapsey

Try It: Superposition in a Cinquain

Remember: The poem is five lines long. The first line is 2 syllables, the second has 4, there are 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth, and 2 syllables again in the last line.

Apply the idea of the “superposition” (or “one idea set on top of another”) into your own cinquain poem. Think about the two elements used in haiku and shape it into the theme of your poem. Add your spark of truth.

poetry prompt mini series offer

Click to get FREE 5-Prompt Mini-Series

Featured Poem

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here is a poem from Christina we enjoyed:

The Cold Remedy

Drink tea.

Now diffuse oils.

Close eyes. Nap. Let it be.

Rest? Salvation. Heal the unseen.

Cease toils.

—by Christina Hubbard

Photo by Georgie Pauwels. Creative Commons via Flickr.

Browse more writing prompts
Browse poetry teaching resources

How to Write a Poem 283 high How to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.

“How to Write a Poem is a classroom must-have.”
—Callie Feyen, English Teacher, Maryland

Buy How to Write a Poem Now!

Save

Save

Save

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Heather Eure
Heather Eure
Heather Eure has served as the Poetry Editor for the late Burnside Collective and Special Projects Editor for us at Tweetspeak Poetry. Her poems have appeared at Every Day Poems. Her wit has appeared just about everywhere she's ever showed up, and if you're lucky you were there to hear it.
Heather Eure
Latest posts by Heather Eure (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Misunderstood Lion - March 19, 2018
  • Animate: Lions & Lambs Poetry Prompt - March 12, 2018
  • Poetry Prompt: Behind the Velvet Rope - February 26, 2018

Filed Under: Blog, cinquain, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, writer's group resources, writing prompt

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Shannon Mayhew says

    September 18, 2017 at 9:37 am

    Awake
    though dreams linger.
    A letter from heaven
    I couldn’t read; the writing looked
    like hers.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      September 19, 2017 at 10:10 pm

      Shannon,
      Intriguing and beautiful.
      Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Shannon says

        September 20, 2017 at 2:33 pm

        Thank you, Katie! I am new to Tweetspeak Poetry, and am excited to have this opportunity to play with words among this warm and talented community!

        The poem is about a friend who passed away earlier this year. Hours before I sat down to check out this week’s prompt, I dreamed she sent me a letter. Of course I couldn’t read what it said, but I knew it was from her. I’m grateful to have had this chance to give form to the experience, which was unsettling but also truly sweet.

        Reply
        • Katie says

          September 23, 2017 at 10:54 am

          So glad you shared this (for your sake and ours), Shannon.
          & Welcome to the TSP community!

          Reply
          • Shannon says

            October 1, 2017 at 9:34 pm

            Ah, me too, Katie. Thank you for making me feel so welcome. 🙂

        • Sharon A Gibbs says

          September 30, 2017 at 7:13 pm

          Shannon, Welcome! Hope to see more from you.
          What a beautiful poem.

          Reply
          • Shannon says

            October 1, 2017 at 9:36 pm

            Thank you, Sharon!!

    • Heather Eure says

      September 20, 2017 at 11:33 pm

      Thanks for sharing with us, Shannon! This is the kind of tender poem that catches us in the throat a little.

      Reply
  2. Rick Maxson says

    September 18, 2017 at 10:46 am

    That he
    loved the orchid,
    and sought her in his dreams,
    he also loved the rose’s thorns
    it seems.

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 20, 2017 at 11:34 pm

      Ah, a twist! Good stuff, Rick. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Rick Maxson says

    September 19, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    lovely
    looks like ugly
    sometimes, but look again,
    the burl waits for the carpenter’s
    skilled hands

    Reply
    • Katie says

      September 19, 2017 at 10:21 pm

      Rick,
      As usual your poem had me reaching for the dictionary to find a definition – this time of “burl”.

      A large
      rounded outgrowth
      on a tree trunk or branch;
      The strongly marked wood from such an
      outgrowth.

      Reading your poetry has expanded my vocabulary:)

      Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 20, 2017 at 11:37 pm

      I do love the gnarly look of a burled wood chest of drawers. I imagine it’s a challenge to work through the knots, though.

      Reply
    • Sharon A Gibbs says

      September 30, 2017 at 7:20 pm

      So many beautiful creations are crafted from burls. I have one of a carved hummingbird perched on a branch.

      Reply
  4. Katie says

    September 19, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    Can we
    all plainly see
    that Katie is catching
    up on Tweetspeak Poetry Prompts
    this week?;)

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 20, 2017 at 11:38 pm

      🙂

      Reply
  5. Prasanta says

    September 20, 2017 at 12:23 am

    Winter
    will find its rest
    once morning arrives, and
    the sun makes us forget what aches.
    Begin….

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 20, 2017 at 11:39 pm

      Oooh, I like this, Prasanta!

      Reply
    • Sharon A Gibbs says

      September 30, 2017 at 7:17 pm

      Prasanta, How captivating. I miss reading your beautiful poetry (as I did in the TSP workshop).

      Reply
  6. Rick Maxson says

    September 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    At war,
    and if you won
    all the land, all the wealth,
    all choices were yours, your God ruled,
    what then?

    Reply
  7. Katie says

    October 6, 2017 at 10:33 pm

    I want to share some cinquains I wrote in order to process/grieve/lament the calamity in LV:

    carnage
    out of the blue
    such senseless suffering
    so many lives lost, gone too soon
    bloodshed

    &

    shooting
    slaughter yet again in our land
    fear, doubt, hurt, death, puzzled
    will we ever
    know why

    &

    bloody
    and extensive
    assault on the living
    massacre raining down, killing
    our hope

    &

    deadly
    swift violence and destruction
    stealing life, shattering
    many people
    for what

    Reply
    • L.L. Barkat says

      October 7, 2017 at 10:00 am

      It’s interesting how different forms automatically communicate a different sense of a thing. Each form has a fabric of its own. The cinquain seems to have a focusing quality, even a terseness that works for this.

      For me, grief has a feeling of suspension, all the while moving mercilessly forward. So the cinquain wasn’t going to work for my own response. But? It would be interesting for a single person to cycle through some of the major forms, as a way to get at various aspects of the tragedy, and reveal various aspects of personal and communal grief.

      October

      When the rain came, they were singing
            the beat was steady—rat tat tat,
            the drums shot through
            the air so thin
            it could not bend
            the certain slant of light
            that called them back
      when the rain came. Falling. Falling. Singing.

      Reply
      • Katie says

        October 7, 2017 at 8:10 pm

        L.L.,
        Thank you for this thoughtful comment and your poem.
        Gratefully,
        Katie

        Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Infographic: How to Write a Cinquain Poem - says:
    September 30, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    […] forms. There’s Adelaide Crapsey’s famous American Cinquain form, fashioned after the Japanese haiku and tanka. There’s the mirror cinquain, the butterfly, the reverse cinquain, and don’t forget the […]

    Reply
  2. Poetry Prompt: The Reverse Cinquain - says:
    August 15, 2018 at 10:47 am

    […] to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here is a poem from Shannon we […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • Laurie Klein on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • Bethany on Poems to Listen By: Black Bird Soirée 04—A Plausible Story
  • L.L. Barkat on 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey
  • 50 States of Generosity- New Jersey - Tweetspeak Poetry on Poetry at Work: The Doctor—William Carlos Williams

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT