Pantoum
A Pantoum is a repeating quatrain form in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza return as the first and third lines of the following stanza. This creates an interwoven, chain-like structure where repeated lines gather new meaning each time they appear. The traditional Pantoum usually closes by bringing back lines from the first stanza, often ending with the poem’s first line.

A Pantoum often includes: four-line stanzas, repeated lines, circular movement, shifting context, and a meditative or echoing effect. The rhyme scheme is often ABAB, though modern pantoums may loosen or abandon rhyme. The repeated lines are the heart of the form. Each return should feel slightly changed by its new placement.

To write a Pantoum, begin with four strong lines. In the second stanza, repeat line two of the first stanza as line one, and line four of the first stanza as line three. Add two new lines. Continue this pattern through the poem. In the final stanza, return to the opening lines so the poem closes in a circle.

A Pantoum of Grateful Prayer

Tomorrow is not promised, life’s a gift,
I pray for one more day with you, my dear.
To God I cry, “Please grant my heart’s uplift,”
Another sunrise filled with love and cheer.

I pray for one more day with you, my dear,
Though grateful for the life God’s blessed to me.
Another sunrise filled with love and cheer,
Oh Lord, let me live on, past ninety-three.

Though grateful for the life God’s blessed to me,
If it’s my time, I shall not beg nor fight.
Oh Lord, let me live on, past ninety-three,
But if I go, please hold me through the night.

If it’s my time, I shall not beg nor fight,
To God I cry, “Please grant my heart’s uplift.”
But if I go, please hold me through the night,
Tomorrow is not promised, life’s a gift.

This follows the classic pattern:

Stanza 1: A / B / C / D
Stanza 2: B / E / D / F
Stanza 3: E / G / F / H
Stanza 4: G / C / H / A

With an expected circular pantoum structure. The line:

To God I cry, “Please grant my heart’s uplift,”

returns properly in the final stanza, and:

Tomorrow is not promised, life’s a gift.

returns as the final line, closing the poem.

“A Pantoum of Grateful Prayer” follows the Pantoum form by repeating the second and fourth lines of each stanza as the first and third lines of the next. The final stanza returns to lines from the first stanza, ending with the opening line. This gives the poem a circular structure suited to prayer, mortality, gratitude, and surrender.
An imperfect Pantoum may use repeated lines and circular return without following the exact traditional order. A pantoum-inspired poem may borrow the form’s interwoven repetition while allowing freer line placement, additional visual art, name art, or altered stanza pattern.

Imperfect Pantoum and name art: SALIE DAVIS
1) White Bird, Mother Bird,
2) A symbol through time…
3) Two young ones to nurture to their prime.
4) Black Bird, Father Bird,

2) A symbol through time…
5) And the domestic flower grows a full bloom
6) With a green leaf beside.
7) Changed with time, mother bird, be on guard!

8) Alone your young lie exposed…
3) Two young ones to nurture to their prime.
9) A wild grass grows.
4) Black bird, Father bird!…

5) And the domestic flower grows a full bloom
6) With a green leaf beside…
7) Changed with time, Mother bird be on guard!
10) Hurry home Black bird for

8) Alone your young lie exposed.
9) A wild grass grows.
10) Hurry home black bird for
1) White bird, mother Bird.

This poem incorporates some of the repetition that defines a Pantoum, it doesn’t follow the exact structural rules of repeated lines in the traditional pattern. The poem is more free-form, blending some elements of a Pantoum with its own creative structure, particularly in terms of line count and repetition placement. This would be considered an Imperfect Pantoum.

Pantoum is a traditional repeating form adapted from Malay verse through French and English poetry. A stricter Pantoum keeps the line repetition pattern exact and often uses rhyme. A looser WoPoLian Pantoum may preserve the echoing return while allowing imperfect repetition, changed punctuation, or altered line order.