A New Day, A New Lesson

The beauty of the Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP) is that it not only encourages you to think daily about something to write on and hone your writing skills, but also connects you with fellow bloggers from around the globe. With everyone submitting their own interpretation of the myriad ways a prompt can be elaborated on, there is so much sharing and learning within the community – always something new to look forward to. A few days ago I learnt about pantoum – a form of poetry from a submission by Kristian,  a regular participant on the RDP forum. I have never been much of a poetry person, and make a conscious effort to look up something new I come across.

So, I’ve been reading up pantoum lately and found it really interesting and creative. Pantoum is a poetic form derived from pantun – a form of Malay verse, specifically the pantun berkait (a series of interwoven stanzas). The poem can be of any length, but needs to be composed of four-line stanzas. The poetry is characterized by repeating lines throughout the poem, with the second and fourth lines of each stanza repeated as the first and third lines of the following stanza. 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 line of the last stanza. The meaning of the lines shifts as they are repeated, although the words remain exactly the same – this can be done by shifting punctuation, recontextualizing, or punning (also known as “paronomasia” – another new word I learnt). I’m sharing a pantoum here by Anne Johnson titled “Desert Dawning” .

The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.

A jackrabbit scurries through the brush

while far above a raven cries.

Dawn breaks from a frozen hush.

 

A jackrabbit scurries through the brush

bent on finding food to eat.

Dawn breaks from a frozen hush,

The cold chill of the night retreats.

 

Bent on finding food to eat,

a roadrunner darts across the sand.

The cold chill of the night retreats,

as fiery warmth fills the land.

 

A roadrunner darts across the sand,

in the shadow of a towering sanguaro.

As fiery warmth fills the land

The cactus wren peers at a beetle below.

 

In the shadow of a towering sanguaro

a bevy of quail march by in a line.

The cactus wren peers at a beetle below.

On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.

 

A bevy of quail march by in a line

while far above a raven cries.

On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.

The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.