Poecile atricapillus
Winking
The wanderer
Wonders over my work
As I split oak and he in song
Marks time.
Strix varia
Child who
Innocence calls
Sagelike to the moonlight,
Night’s huntsmen fill you and field mice
With fright.
Sciurus carolinensis
Shadow
The tail trailing
Around grey Red maple
Branches; hear how he regards me
And leaves.
The cinquain, or quintain, is a poem structured around five lines, a poetic style that dates back to at least the late middle ages. The American poet Adelaide Crapsey (1878–1914) was attracted to the focus and natural imagery of haiku and tanga poetry; out of her marriage of western and eastern traditions came the “American cinquain,” which makes use of stress (1-2-3-4-1) and syllable patterns (2-4-6-6-2). The Scottish poet William Soutar (1898–1943) further developed the form. The poems here are an example of the Scottish-American modern cinquain, a form simple to learn, difficult to master, and wonderful for contemplating the natural world.