Three Cinquains on a Sorrowful Theme
For Bill Brymer
1
The streets
are lonely, yes—
you walk around all day
& no one ever looks at you,
no one.
2
You stand
in line for lunch,
look for shade in summer,
stay out of the wind in winter.
You wait.
3
At night
you find a place
to sleep with no one else
around. Settle in, one eye shut,
one not.
45 thoughts on "Three Cinquains on a Sorrowful Theme"
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This is a great response
to Bill’s great poem.
And how quickly done!
Thanks Jim!
What an honor to have a Kevin Nance poem written to me. I honestly don’t know what to say, other than Thank You! I do so love this theme, your cinquains are a great form for this. Such precision.
You’re one of my favorite poets, Bill, with a willingness to try the old forms and fill them with your huge heart. This is my thank-you for helping me along my own path.
I totally agree!
❤️
Humbled.
❤️
Well done, Kevin.
Thanks, John!
Yeah !!! Great poetic reaponse!
Poets
Doing poet things
the bell is beginning
to ring the clapper
and it’s only
the 12th of june.
Thanks Coleman! NBA finals tonight?
I don’t know if there is anything the spurs can do……destiny is in the building.
Yep
Just FYI Saturday is the next game. I think the Spurs win the next one.
Love when we feed off each other’s words! Beautiful.
Exactly, Sylvia! Your poems inspire me too. Hmmm…
Wow – I love the last line especially, Kevin.
Thanks Nancy!
You’ve captured the feeling of loneliness so well, and I love the “one eye shut/ one not” at the end.
Thanks Chelsie!
perfectly evocative and the form serves rather than constrains. Great poetry!
Thanks Mike! You touch on a strong point: that the old forms can be wonderful vessels but also straitjackets. I guess the trick is to match the content with the right form, but maybe easier said than done.
💔👏🙌
❤️
Beautiful as well as haunting.
Thanks Virginia!
I agree with Virginia–your poem is both beautiful and haunting. Thank you for reminding me about the cinquain form.
Thanks Karen!
Agree with Karen and Virginia. Love: “& no one ever looks at you,/no one.”
Thanks Pam!
call and response
👍
Exquisitely sorrowful but entirely whole.
Thanks Shaun.
Well now I have to go read Bill’s poem, but this by itself is so beautifully sorrowfully done
Thanks Arwen!
Gosh, the steady, accumulated weight of being alone in plain sight. These images are really powerful, Kevin!
Thanks Jeremy!
Very tight poem, conveying so much.
Thanks Taunja!
The closing lines of 1 and 3 are perfect — shows what the cinquain form can do!
I appreciate it, Libby!
Ah! One eye open, one not. Indeed. I can see this person sleeping “rough,” sleeping alone. Well done!
Thanks E.E.!