Thursday, June 30, 2011

My Long-Lost Cinquain Verses

Have you noticed how much “stuff” we accumulate as we travel this Road of Life?  It’s ridiculous how much of that “stuff” we hang onto until we die—even though much of it will have little or no meaning to those we leave behind.  Our families end up disposing of most of these things because they don’t mean a hill of beans to them.  It’s just a big burden for them.

So, I am sorting through some of our boxes of memorabilia to purge items that I know no one will want after I’m gone. In my sorting, I came across an old notebook of my musings. As I looked through the personal essays, a myriad of memories bathed my heart. (Can’t part with this one yet.)  As I neared the back of the notebook, I discovered several pages of cinquain verses I wrote following a writers’ conference about 18 years ago. 

If you aren’t familiar with cinquain verses, a cinquain is a five-line poem with a specific pattern. Each line has a prescribed number of syllables and purpose within the poem.

I decided to share a few of my cinquain verses with you. I hope you enjoy reading them. Most of them are untitled, but I did write titles for a few of them. 

My cinquain verses:

Dogwood.
Crosslike blossoms
Etched with scars of dark brown,
Reminding the world of Christ’s gift—
New Life.

Easter.
Glorious day.
Blessed, hallowed, joyous.
Filling hearts with resurrection.
New Life.

Prayer.
Intercession.
Praising, thankiing, pleading.
Communication with my Lord.
Quiet time.

Christmas.
Jubilation;
Exciting elation;
Celebrating Jesus’ birthday.
Holy.

Pastor.
Faithful servant
Loving, giving, caring.
Ministering to God’s people.
Shepherd.

Wedding.
Sacred event
Uniting and blending,
Making two spirits into one.
Blessing.

Sunset.
Fiery, flaming,
Drawing night to its breast.
Making my heart swell at it’s beauty.
Awesome.

Willow.
Graceful bower
Flowing, wafting, reaching.
Giving respite to the weary.
Haven.

River.
Westward traveler.
Gurgling, swirling, splashing.
Wending it way through the canyon.
The Snake.

Lily.
Regal blossom.
Trumpeting simplicity;
Displaying royal elegance.
Graceful.

Parrot.
Marvelous Bird.
Squawking, chirping, preening.
Exotic jungle denizen.
Gorgeous.

Oak tree.
Tall majestic.
Lifting limbs to heaven;
Sturdy roots drawing in earth’s strength.
Mighty.

Nature’s Terror
Typhoon.
Angry, fearsome.
Whirling out of control;
Wreaking havoc in its pathway.
Madness.
 
Winterland
Snowflakes.
Feathery fluff.
Swirling, twirling, drifting
Making fields into fairylands.
Crystals.

My Suncatchers
Prisms.
Rainbow makers
Shimmering in sunlight,
Suspended by my window pane.
Jewels.

King of the Desert
Eagle.
Majestic, proud;
Soaring, gliding, floating;
Presiding over the desert.
Regal.
 

1 comment:

Ridgewoman said...

They have the ‘feel’ of Haiku...
I particularly liked “Dogwood”
ly bj