Flying Fish_ Poem Forms

Out in the ocean, far from land, birds and other sea life become more scarce. But one amazing and silly creature that lives far from shore is the flying fish.  The first time you see a flying fish, you don't know quite what you're looking at:  It appears to be flying fast and low over the waves, like a sea bird, but on closer inspection you notice that it is actually a fish! 

Flying fish have developed an ingenious way of fleeing from their predators:  They leap out of the water and use their large, wing-like fins to "fly" several meters away from a pursuing enemy!  It is remarkable to see.

The problem for the fish comes when it doesn't see a boat that is traveling in its path.  Just as it leaps to escape its enemy...splat!  The fish lands on the deck of a passing boat!  When we're making ocean crossings, I wake every morning to find one, a few, or several flying fish scattered on the deck.  I have counted as many as eighteen fish on deck!

Flying fish are superb and clumsy at once; I love them.  Later in this blog entry, read a poem I wrote about flying fish.

Busy Brains love to write poems!
Poems are fun to write.  Some poems rhyme.  Others follow a form, regarding the number of words or syllables in each line.  Haiku is an ancient type of poem that follows a form of syllables.  There are many variations on haiku, but the most common form is a 5-7-5 syllable haiku.  Here is an example:

Black cat turns his back
ears back to check that you know
you're being ignored
by Josh, age 15

Another type of poem that kids enjoy writing is a cinquain poem.  In a cinquain poem, the form refers to the number of words in each line.  When written out, a cinquain poem often looks like a Christmas tree, because the words in each line steadily increase until the last line.  A cinquain poem is written:  1 word, 2 words, 3 words, 4 words, 5 words, 1 word.

Here's an example of a cinquain poem:

Autumn

Colorful leaves

Red, orange, gold

Pile the leaves high

Run fast and jump in

Crunch!

by Katelyn, age 7

One of the best things about poems, is that as a writer, you're not bound to the same rules of grammar that you are when you write a paragraph.  You're free to experiment with different forms of writing.  You can even invent a new poem form.  Why not??  Since I'm currently traveling around on my sailboat, I decided to invent a new kind of cinquain poem that I call a "Sailboat Cinquain" poem.  Here's how it works:

The top part is the same as a regular cinquain poem (1 word, 2 words, 3 words, 4 words, 5 words, 1 word).  The bottom part makes it a "sailboat" cinquain (5 words, 4 words, 3 words).  Have fun trying one of your own!

Here's an example of a Sailboat Cinquain poem I wrote about flying fish:

Splat!

Flying fish

Hit the boat

Flipping, flopping on deck

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen fish!

Pity

They can't aim any better

Exquisitly soaring and flying

Until they...splat!

Busy Brains Challenge:
Try writing a poem yourself!  Write a haiku (5-7-5 syllables), a cinquain poem (1,2,3,4,5,1 words), or try a "sailboat" cinquain poem (just like a regular cinquain poem, but finish with 5,4,3 words to make the bottom of the sailboat form).

Here's how to share your answer with other Busy Brains:

1.  First, click on the title of this post.
2.  Go to the bottom of the post and click on the words "Post a comment".

Come on!  It's easy and fun!  You'll be able to see your answer posted with the other answers on the next Busy Brains posting!