The modern form, known as American cinquain[1][2] is inspired by Japanese haiku and tanka[3][4] and is akin in spirit to that of the Imagists.
Crapsey's cinquain depends on strict structure and intense physical imagery to communicate a mood or feeling.
[7] The form is illustrated by Crapsey's "November Night":[8] Listen... With faint dry sound, Like steps of passing ghosts, The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees And fall.
The Scottish poet William Soutar also wrote over one hundred American cinquains (he labelled them "epigrams") between 1933 and 1940.
It is an informal cinquain widely taught in elementary schools and has been featured in, and popularized by, children's media resources, including Junie B. Jones and PBS Kids.