Genetic Cinquains

Jessica lives in Conway, Arkansas, and is an Alternative Learning Environment Teacher/Special Education Teacher in Morrilton, Arkansas at Southern Christian Children’s Home. One of the many passions in her life is advocacy for appropriate, educational, and functional services and programs for children with special needs. She is an avid reader and a lover and a writer of poetry. She is married with two children, a daughter and a son who is hard of hearing.

Inspiration

A former colleague dressed up for almost every “National Whatever Day”. We had car rider duty, so she encouraged dressing up on those days. I paid my dues (Proof below). Today is National DNA Day and also the 20th Anniversary of the Human Genome Project. ( Read more here: National DNA Day | April 25 – Calendar). To celebrate the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), aka, “the double helix”, and to honor the developer of the cinquain poem, Adelaide Crapsey (read more about her here: Adelaide Crapsey | Poetry Foundation), let’s celebrate our genes, even if our other pairs may be a little snug.

Process

Today’s poetry type is the cinquain, a poem or stanza composed of five lines. Two types are highlighted today, the American Cinquain and the Didactic Cinquain, with two examples provided.

• American Cinquain characteristics
  • Unrhymed, five-line poetic form with 22 syllables
  • Line One- two syllables
  • Line Two- four syllables
  • Line Three-six syllables
  • Line Four-eight syllables
  • Line Five-two syllables 

• Didactic Cinquain characteristics
  • Commonly used in elementary classrooms, 
  • Has this structure:
    • Line One: One word (a noun, the subject of the poem)
    • Line Two: Two words (adjectives that describe the subject)
    • Line Three: Three words (-ing action verbs–participles–that relate to the subject)
    • Line Four: Four words (a phrase or sentence that relates feelings about the subject)
    • Line Five: One word (a synonym or a word that sums it up)

Before writing, list your qualities and features. Turn your flaws into a work of art as the unique original, genetically designed person you are.

Jessica’s Poem

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.