by Ashley Lister

We screw and screw
the weekend through

We do not stop. We
take no break.

On Saturdays it’s all
we do

You tame my one-eyed
trouser snake

We’re at it ‘til our bodies
ache.

We screw and screw
through all Sunday

You ride me like a thoroughbred

These two-day-long
rolls in the hay

Can leave my looking
like I’m dead

Yet still I’m grateful
that we wed.

A quintain, is recorded by the Collins English Dictionary
with two definitions:

1 a post or target set up for
tilting exercises for mounted knights or foot soldiers

2 the exercise of tilting at such
a target

The dictionary overlooks the fact that a quintain is also a
five line poem. Obviously we’ve looked at many short poetic forms on here in
the past, several of which are limited to five lines. Both types of cinquain  (traditional and contemporary) can be counted
as quintains. Similarly, the typical limerick falls under this header. As does the
English quintain, such as the one above and the one below.

The rhyme scheme for English quintains is usually A-B-A-B-B.
There is no set measure or foot (the number and type of syllables or feet). Sometimes
quintains work well in longer ballads. Other times a single verse is enough.

Do me in the morning

Or do me late at
night

Do me without warning

Don’t bother being
polite

But please just do me
right

As always, I look forward to enjoying your English quintains
in the comments box below.