American cinquain

I like writing haiku and have posted several on this blog (https://turn-stone.com/?s=haiku). Recently, I learned about another form of syllabic poetry, the American cinquain. Instead of three lines like haiku, it has five, and its syllabic arrangement is different. My haiku follow a traditional pattern: five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third (5-7-5). In contrast, my American cinquain poems follow this structure: two syllables in the first line, four in the second, six in the third, eight in the fourth, and two in the fifth (2-4-6-8-2). I also use iambs, a two-syllable metrical pattern in which one unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable, e.g., the word “mon-SOON.”

Here are three of mine:

Awake
I greet each dawn
To celebrate the day
And possibilities it brings
Anew

My dog
Each year for me
Is seven years for him
He’s showing me the path ahead
Of life

Good lord
Protect and save
This poor, free-thinking man
From hateful zealots who evoke
Your name

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