Welcome to The Beat, a poetry podcast produced by Knox County Public Library. Today, you’ll hear two poems written by the poet Adelaide Crapsey, who lived from 1878 to 1914, and is best known as the inventor of the cinquain, a brief metrical form that resembles the Japanese haiku. Cinquains are just five lines long and each consecutive line has a fixed number of syllables. Here are two of Adelaide Crapsey’s cinquains, “Amaze” and “Niagra.”

AMAZE

I know

Not these my hands

And yet I think there was

A woman like me once had hands

Like these.

NIAGRA

Seen on a Night in November

How frail

Above the bulk

Of crashing water hangs,

Autumnal, evanescent, wan,

The moon.

Thank you for listening to and sharing this podcast from Knox County Public Library in Knoxville, Tennessee. Music for this podcast is by Chad Crouch. Find all our podcasts at pods.knoxlib.org, and explore life-changing resources at www.knoxlib.org. That's "knox l-i-b." Go to our "keep in touch" page to sign up for newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Make us your essential connection for life-long learning and information.