I heard about the poetry format known as the pantoum this morning from Pádraig Ó Tuama’s wonderful Poetry Unbound Substack. You can read about the format here (it is a free article on his Substack).
As I am very found of restrictive formats such as Haiku I find the Pantoum fascinating. Below is my very primitive first swing at a Pantoum – I followed all the line suggestions in the article.
I’ll be doing these more – along with more Haiku. Working on that creative life!
The Pantoum:
Today, it is Sunday and I should rest
And I need to move and walk around
Although yesterday I did little of what I planned
As I write, I feel the shortness of time
And I need to move and walk around
When I was younger I was ignorant of finality
As I write, I feel the shortness of time
I wouldn’t have known the span of my life
When I was younger I was ignorant of finality
And anyway…time grinds ever forward
I wouldn’t have known the span of my life
I have a dream of infinity in my grasp
And anyway…time grinds ever forward
Although yesterday I did little of what I planned
I have a dream of infinity in my grasp
Today, it is Sunday and I should rest