Phoenix Sixain: A New Poetic Form

The Phoenix is most famously a personification of rebirth and renewal, but its symbolism is much broader: it embodies resilience, immortality, purification, transformation, and even cosmic cycles like the rising sun. Across cultures, it has been used to represent not just personal regeneration but also societal renewal, balance, and virtue.

Introducing the latest poetic form in my stable of designed forms:

™ PHOENIX SIXAIN, invented by Suzette Richards (22/12/2024) [Edited 23/7/2025]

© THE DESIGN

• Select five consecutive lines—verbatim from a designated poem.
• Construct Line 6 by choosing one word from each of those five lines, in sequence.
• You may optionally include up to two structure words (e.g., articles, prepositions, conjunctions) to aid grammatical clarity or poetic flow. You may, also, change the tenses, etc of the chosen words to facilitate the composition of the 6^th line.
• When function words are used, Line 6 may extend to a maximum of seven words.
• Rhyme and metre are optional, and syllable count per line is unrestricted.
• Capitalisation and punctuation may be adjusted to suit your final composition.
• At the bottom of your poem, add ‘Inspired by”, followed by the title of your original poem, and the date it was first published.* In the ™Phoenix sixain this is seen as transformative.

*It is a criminal offence to plagiarise people’s work (even your own, ie copying passages from previously published work without due reference to it)—it is governed by a variety of copyright laws worldwide. The notion that non-commercial use exempts one from plagiarism is a persistent myth.

AS ILLUSTRATION

I recognise your weirdness

for it is my own* weakness.

You’re the mirror of my mind

as we lie† still entwined

in the intimate darkness.

Weirdness owns* mind – entwined darkness.

[The 5 lines are from my poem, Weirdness (2012)]

OPTIONS

1. The original 5 lines may be a single stanza (verse) or part of a longer poem; the 6^th line would resonate with this in its repetition of the words and may employ enjambment between lines 5 and 6.  
2. *An example of a homonym in practice.
3. Changing the original poem by inserting a comma, thereby changing the meaning of the word and the sentence. Example: ‘still’ (adverb TO adjective): as we lie still, entwined …
4. Here are further examples for line 6:

• Recognise weakness, mirror entwined darkness.
• Your weakness; minds entwined, intimate.
• Weirdness, weakness of still darkness.
• Et cetera.

The 6^th line needs to be coherent and effective, for example:

‘Recognised weakness of laid darkness’ creates an intriguing and evocative image, but the use of ‘laid’ may not be ideal in this context. The word ‘laid’ is the past tense of ‘lay’, and it might not convey the intended meaning here. ‘Entwined’ (from the 4^th line) would be a more suitable word; therefore, Recognised weakness of entwined darkness.

MY EXAMPLE POEM

[The 5-line verse is from my poem, Where do Birds Go when they Die? (2014)]

A Woman’s Longing

trailing her fingers through the crystal water

momentarily leaving a disturbance

soon to return to a calm mirror

believing woman’s love to be brief

driven mad by the longing and griefw

water momentarily return woman’s longing

© Suzette Richards 12/22/2024

All rights reserved.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

NB No part of my designed poetic forms may be copied/used in any manner, including the unique names of the poetic forms—it would constitute Paraphrasing plagiarism. 

*Homonyms, in linguistics, broadly defined, are words that sound alike and spelled the same, but have different meanings, eg  pale: (n)—fence stake; (adj) wan; (v) become whiter.

†Lie vs. Lay

We’re all pretty clear on the lie that means an untruth. It’s the other usage that trips us up. Lie also means to recline: “Why don’t you lie down and rest?” Lay requires an object: “Lay the book on the table.” Lie is something you can do by yourself, but you need an object to lay. It’s more confusing in the past tense. The past tense of lie is—you guessed it—lay: “I lay down for an hour last night.” And the past tense of lay is laid: “I laid the book on the table.”

From the article, dd 20 June 2015:

20 misused English words that make smart people look silly (qz.com)

EXAMPLE POEMS FROM THE WINNERS LIST – PHOENIX SIXAIN CONTEST 15/7/2026:

1. Magdalena Droplets | Poem (poetrysoup.com)
2. The sun needs a savior | Poem (poetrysoup.com)
3. A Sweet Hummingbird | Poem (poetrysoup.com)