b o t t o m l e s s (a pantoum)

Sip those sunsets, time isn’t bottomless.
Let that cold wind kiss your deep dark tresses,
while your soul sinks with ‘nother day’s eggress.
Sshh, be still, as evening sky undresses.

Let that cold wind kiss your deep dark tresses.
Tired feet, be bare, let dusts be your toes guests.
Shh, be still, as evening sky undresses.
Solace’s not a clear map, it’s a wild quest.

Tired feet, be bare, let dusts be your toes guests,
tough, thick skin is formed with sharp thorns’ scratches.
Solace’s not a clear map, it’s a wild quest.
You’re never lost, this earth is your address.

Tough, thick skin is formed with sharp thorns’ scratches—
scars of blood-golds, only you can possess.
Yes, you’re never lost. This earth’s your address.
Sip those sunsets. Time isn’t bottomless.

—

03.18.2019
©2019 Rosemawrites@A Reading Writer. All Rights Reserved.
Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash

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Inspired by dVerse Poetry–a Piece of Written Art.

My second try on dear Gina’s of Singledust prompt:

*Pantoum

The pantoum is a poetic form derived from the pantun, a Malay verse form: specifically from the pantun berkait, a series of interwoven quatrains and rhyming couplets.

Basic structure

It is similar to a villanelle with repeating lines throughout the poem. It is composed of a series of quatrains; the second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first.

The pattern continues for any number of stanzas, except for the final stanza, which differs in the repeating pattern.

The first and third lines of the last stanza are the second and fourth of the penultimate; the first line of the poem is the last line of the final stanza, and the third line of the first stanza is the second of the final.

Ideally, the meaning of lines shifts when they are repeated although the words remain exactly the same: this can be done by shifting punctuation, punning, or simply recontextualizing.

A four-stanza pantoum is common (although more may be used), and in the final stanza, lines one and three from the first stanza can be repeated, or new lines can be written.

The basic pantoum form is as follows:

Stanza 1
A
B
C
D

Stanza 2
B
E
D
F

Stanza 3
E
G
F
H

Stanza 4
G
C
H
A