Pantoums from Karen's Whimsy



Pantoums are a wonderfully rhythmic non-rhyming poems. They have a set pattern with a wide variety of variations. It's the repetition of lines that creates the flowing rhythm in pantoums. There are four stanzas of four lines each. Each line repeats twice in the poem. There's something about the beauty and simplicity of pantoums that make them feel very lyrical. Anyone can write wonderful pantoums and become a poet.

If you'd like to see how I incorporated a pantoum inside one of my Altered Books, take a look at my Poetry Book.

I originally learned about pantoums in the book Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises 20 -- by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford. They share are lots of good ideas for writing poetry.

Pantoums

Into the Waterfall

A waterfall pours down a huge gray boulder into a foamy green pool
Rainbows spread out from the misty spray-- yellow, lavender, green
I soak up the sun on the white sandy beach
Listening to the water splash against the rocks

Rainbows spread out from the misty spray-- yellow, lavender, green
I swim in the pool's cool, dark deepness
Listening to the water splash against the rocks
Behind the waterfall I find a hidden cave

I swim in the pool's cool, dark deepness
I find trunks heaped with rubies, emeralds, and pearls
Behind the waterfall in a hidden cave
I stand before a golden mirror, wearing layers of gleaming jewels

I swim in the pool's cool, dark deepness
I find trunks heaped with rubies, emeralds, and pearls
Behind the waterfall in a hidden cave
I stand before a golden mirror, wearing layers of gleaming jewels

I find trunks heaped with rubies, emeralds, and pearls
Behind a waterfall pouring down a huge gray boulder into a foamy green pool
I stand before a golden mirror, wearing layers of gleaming jewels
Then I soak up the sun on the white sandy beach.


Icarus

Out into the light
Eyes shut tight he leaps.
He feels the wind embrace him,
Lift him high above the sea.

Eyes shut tight, he leaps.
He feels the rush of freedom
Lift him high above the sea.
His small frame dances on air.

He feels the rush of freedom
Words of warning drift away.
His small frame dances on air,
As the wax melts down his arms.

Words of warning drift away
Out into the light.
As the wax melts down his arms,
He feels the sea embrace him.


Grand Canyon

I walk right up to the edge
A vast canyon lies before me
More than the eye can see or the mind can imagine
Endless layers of gold and rusted rock.

A vast canyon lies before me
Spires of stone stretch into the hazy sky
Endless layers of gold and rusted rock
A hawk rides on the cool, still air.

Spires of stone stretch into the hazy sky
Seven thousand feet high; ten miles across
A hawk rides on the cool, still air
A blue-green thread of river winds below me.

Seven thousand feet high and ten miles across
I stand right at the edge
A blue-green thread of river winds below me
More than the mind can see or the eye can imagine.



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