Poetry Friday Round-up is with Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference
Poetry can take you to unexpected places. This was my experience with writing a Pantoum. The form seems simple, yet it complicates things. The form is made up of 4-line stanzas. The second and fourth lines of the first quatrain become the first and third lines of the second, and this pattern continues. Often the last line repeats the first; although, mine did not. Poetry forms can both confine the writer and free her. In my experience, the rhymes confined me, yet the message I thought I was making changed with the writing.
A writing group friend gave me a book this week, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It drew me in immediately. Her writing style is fresh. She writes with intelligence and honesty. I took a line from her second chapter, “How I wrestle with last night’s dream,” and then looked at notes from my meditation journal. I thought I would write about God as a loving center. The poem, however, seems more about my love, my husband, and his ever present trust in my life. You never know where a poem may lead. Sometimes we just have to follow.
How I wrestle with last night’s dream.
The words have all been said before,
nothing new, what can they mean,
written on the stone of this cold floor?The words have all been said before.
I reach for your open hand so near
writing my love on the stone cold floor
words to erase my fear.I reach for your open hand so near
like a child reaches for her mother.
Words will erase my fear
with trust in honesty and one another.Like a child reaching for her mother,
I recognize that look on your face
with trust in honesty and one another,
open to your willing embrace.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved.
Reflections on the Teche 
You know this one makes me weepy.
Sent from my iPhone
It’s true — we are not always in charge of where our poems go! It’s more fruitful to trust a poem than to argue with it. I’ll bet your husband enjoyed being in the center of this one 🙂
Pantoums are slippery that way! Nice how the lines changed meanings throughout the poem!
My daughter, Libby, has been dating a wonderful guy who has 9 siblings! His family is amazing. Lyn, his mother, who is a reader, recommended One Thousand Gifts, so of course, I bought it. 😉 I thought it was so profound, and sometimes painful. Your poem captures the voice of the memoir perfectly. I got the app on my iPhone!
I’ve only just begun to read it, but I can’t put it down. The writing is so well done. Once again, we connect. Serendipity!
Oh, and don’t you love the cover? I had to buy it just for that. 😉
Lovely.
It’s a love poem extraordinaire, Margaret. You should read Shakespeare’s sonnet on Robyn’s post today. The love in both is sweet. I love the line “writing my love on the stone cold floor”. I’ve heard of the book, & will look for it. Thank you!
Wonderful! Don’t you love it when a bit of writing opens up a part of you to yourself? I like how you let the poem take you by the hand, so to speak.
I’ve read Anne’s book and I think the way she says things will snag your attention more than just this once.
Just what Kevin commented this morning on Twitter. Form:function. An interesting chicken:egg conundrum.
PS: lovely (love-filled) poem!!