Poetic Form 58: Pantoum

 

 

 

Let there be...

At the beginning of the world, when all was dark,

I wish God would have voiced another command,

“Let there be love!” That would have been a better start.

Instead we were given light, seas, and land.

I wish God would have voiced another command.

Say something that would have let us see joy,

instead we were given light, seas, and land.

We walk these hours blind and hurting, smiles only a decoy.

Say something that would have let us see joy,

allow us to fill our counted days with love. Building a life, 

we walk these hours blind and hurting, smiles only a decoy.

It’s not only our backs, but our chests hurt from the knives.

Allow us to fill our counted days with love, building a life. 

Without that command, the sun and moon watch as we all fall.

It’s not only our backs, but our chests hurt from the knives.

Our ears bleed, hands shake, loneliness hurts above all.

Why couldn’t God speak what we needed most these days?

“Let there be love!” That would have been a better start.

Maybe we could have lived a life clear of such an angry blaze,

at the beginning of the world, when all was dark.

Poetic Form #58: Pantoum

The pantoum form is a set of quatrains (4-line stanzas) that starts with an abab rhyme scheme. 

With each quatrain you repeat lines 2 and 4 in the previous stanza as lines 1 and 3 in the next 

stanza, creating a new rhyme scheme. Second stanza would be bcbc.

There are two options for the final quatrain.  You can repeat lines 1 and 3 of the original 

quatrain as lines 2 and 4 in the final quatrain. Another option is to invert lines 1 and 3 so 

that the first line of the poem is also the final line of the poem.