Pantoum | Imamother

mummiedearest

Mon, Apr 04 2011, 10:59 pm

I had to write one for class. it's a fun structure to work with.

here are instructions, borrowed from another site:
1. Write a four-line stanza. Use your imagination, try to make the lines emotional. Just like with any other poem let the words take over.

2. Take lines 2 and 4 of the first stanza and put them down as lines 1 and 3 of the next.

3. Finish the second stanza, by creating the missing lines that connect 1 and 3.

4. Repeat the pattern. Take lines 2 and 4 of the second stanza and make them 1 and 3 of the third. Do this until you have completed the pantoum.

5. At the final stanza, go back to the beginning. You now use the two lines that haven't been repeated yet. Lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza. To close the poem make line 3 the second line of the final stanza, and make line 1 the final line of the poem.

mummiedearest

Mon, Apr 04 2011, 11:01 pm

Sleeplessness

At 3 a.m. a train flies by my window.
Empty car, empty car, empty car, empty car.
A man rides in solitude behind his newspaper.
New York is a city that never sleeps.

Empty car, empty car, empty car, empty car.
I watch the scene through insomniac eyes.
New York is a city that never sleeps.
I see others’ walls through the train windows.

I watch the scene through insomniac eyes.
Insomnia is a stubborn companion.
I see others’ walls through the train windows.
The passenger with the newspaper understands me.

Insomnia is a stubborn companion.
A man rides in solitude behind his newspaper.
The passenger with the newspaper understands me.
At 3 a.m. a train flies by my window.

amother

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 9:40 am

Diagnosis

Oh Chaim, my beloved brother,
We got the diagnosis today.
We heard about that massive tumor.
We know you will need that horrible chemotherapy.

We got the diagnosis today.
There’s a tumor around my brother’s heart.
We know you will need that horrible chemotherapy.
My heart may be more broken than yours.

There’s a tumor around my brother’s heart.
I cannot believe the dreadful news.
My heart may be more broken than yours.
I wish I could make it just go away.

I can’t believe the dreadful news.
We heard about that massive tumor.
I wish I could make it go away.
Oh Chaim, my beloved brother.

I usually post under my screenname, but since this is true and I don't want anyone who knows me to find out through a poem online, I'll post as amother. You can call me Tiffany.

robynm

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 11:01 am

amother wrote:

Oh Tiffany,
I'm so so sorry!!! May your brother have a complete Refuah Sheleima!!!

This poem is so sad and painful but beautiful at the same time. Thank you for sharing it.
How did it feel to write it?

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 5:39 pm

Here's my first. I'll post my second one as soon as I can type it up.

In Memory of Chaim Yaakov A”H

My sister had a baby boy,
Oh, how excited we all were.
We couldn’t wait to see and hold him,
We couldn’t wait to watch him grow.

Oh, how excited we all were.
But then his heart just stopped beating.
We couldn’t wait to watch him grow,
Now we weren’t sure if he would live through the day.

Then his heart just stopped beating.
He was on a respirator and many machines.
Now we weren’t sure if he would live through the day.
Would Hashem really take our nephew away?

He was on a respirator and many machines
For eight difficult and very long years.
Would Hashem really take our nephew away?
We still didn’t know what life had in store.

For eight difficult and very long years,
We watched our nephew fight for his life.
We still didn’t know what life had in store
Until our nephew was Niftar one day.

We watched our nephew fight for his life.
We couldn’t wait to see and hold him.
Until our nephew was Niftar one day.
My sister had a baby boy.

robynm

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 6:00 pm

the world's best mom wrote:

breaking my heart.....

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 05 2011, 7:05 pm

Our Scary World

We are living in a world so scary and big.
There are so many problems of all different kinds.
Every week there are tragedies anew.
More people sick and more passed away.

There are so many problems of all different kinds.
I don’t know if I can handle it all.
More people sick and more passed away.
More people divorced and more childless, too.

I don’t know if I can handle it all.
So many challenges we must overcome.
More people divorced and childless, too.
I hold my Tehillim close to my heart.

So many challenges we must overcome.
The horrors of life just don’t seem to end.
I hold my Tehillim close to my heart.
The power of prayer is my best friend.

The horrors of life just don’t seem to end.
I beg of Hashem to pull us all through.
The power of prayer is my best friend.
I ask Our Father to bring us all home.

I beg of Hashem to help us pull through.
Every week there are tragedies anew.
I ask Our Father to bring us all home.
We’re living in a world so scary and big.

momof6

Tue, Apr 12 2011, 7:18 pm

Tracht gut vet zein gut
Our thoughts have power
Think good and it will be good
Brain waves make things happen

Our thoughts have power
think, think
Think good and it will be good
The mind can create

Think, think
Parnossa and bracha
Think good and it will be good
Yiddishe nachas

Parnossa and bracha
Harness the power of the mind
Yiddishe nachas
Children ans granchildren

A smile lights up my face
Think good and it will be good
It's more than hope, it's power
Tracht gut vet zein gut

amother

Tue, Apr 12 2011, 9:14 pm

No time to think

I rush around in the morning
there is no time to think.
We have a school bus to catch
and lots of things to do.

There is no time to think.
There's so much to do.
We have a school bus to catch.
and the kids must be dressed and fed.

There's so much to do.
I have to go to work.
and the kids must be dressed and fed
before I take my baby to the baby-sitter.

I have to go to work
There is no time to think.
Before I take my baby to the baby-sitter,
There's a lot I must do.

There is no time to think
I have a bus to catch.
There's a lot I must do.
Its time for work.

I have a bus to catch
I better run!
Its time for work.
I see the bus coming.

I better run!
There's no time to think!
I see the bus coming.
There's no time to think!

There's no time to think!
Go catch the bus.
There's no time to think
until I'm on the bus.

Go catch the bus
and try to get a seat.
Until I'm on the bus,
I have to run.

And try to get a seat
So I could have time to think.
I have to run
and there's no time to think.

So I could have time to think
I better sit down.
And there's no time to think
when I'm rushing around.

I better sit down,
take out my tehilim.
When I'm rushing around,
I have no time to think.

Take out my tehilim
and whisper the words.
I have no time to think
and my brother has cancer.

Whisper the words,
ask Hashem for a cure.
My brother has cancer
and I'll make time to think.

I know, I'm all over with this poem, but I find this style of writing to be a little difficult. Feel free to criticize. I'm posting as a mother to protect my brother's privacy, but I'm a regular poster here.

imasinger

Tue, Apr 12 2011, 10:23 pm

Pesach Tilt-a-Whirl

My head spins faster as the night grows late
Will I have time to cook before school starts?
I'll never get it done at this snail's rate
Pile more ingredients in the shopping carts.

Will I have time to cook before school starts?
Or maybe I should clean up all the toys..
Pile more ingredients on the shopping carts
Pipe down, kids -- I can't think with all that noise!

Maybe I should clean up all the toys.
Tomorrow, we'll clean under radiators.
Pipe down, kids -- I can't think with all that noise!
I can't forget the romaine for the seders...

Tomorrow, we'll clean under radiators
Then at the farmer's market I will call
I can't forget the romaine for the seders
I'll need to find more guests to eat this all.

At the farmer's market I must call
I'll never get it done at this snail's rate.
I'll need to find more guests to eat this all;
My head spins faster as the night grows late.

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 12 2011, 11:04 pm

amother wrote:

Hey, world's best mom, if Chaim Yaakov was your nephew, I think I know your sister! How is she doing? I haven't been in touch with her in years, but I had heard about her son. I know some of her sisters too but I'm not sure if you're one of them that I've met. Reading your posts, I have a guess though that you're CR. Am I right?

Yes, you guessed right. Do I get to know who you are? You can pm me.

My sister is doing fine. She's expecting in a month or so, and making a Bar Mitzvah the week of of her due date.

amother

Tue, Apr 12 2011, 11:12 pm

amother wrote:

This poem is best read quickly. It makes you feel rushed. I like that. Then at the end, you are forced to slow down. Makes you realize the importance of davening for Cholim.

Good job.

Love,
Tiffany

P.S. I'm assuming your my sister, since we both have a brother with cancer

amother

Wed, Apr 13 2011, 12:59 pm

Quote:

Yes, you guessed right. Do I get to know who you are? You can pm me.

Sorry, but you don't. Tongue Out

Nothing personal but I prefer to remain anonymous. You don't have to worry about your own privacy though since I really don't read here much. Maybe 2-3 times a year and I'm bound to forget your username by next time.

Glad to hear your sister's doing well. I'd tell you to send her regards but.....

poemmom

Fri, Sep 09 2011, 7:02 am

I know this post is really old but I just came across it and couldn't resist posting the pantoum I wrote back in 2009 for Birkat HaChama.

Blessing of the Sun

Blessed are you who makes the work of creation.
We make this blessing once every twenty-eight years
on an early April morning to praise the creation
of the sun, on the fourth day, in its first position.

We make this blessing once every twenty-eight years,
enough time to have moved along in our lives
like the sun in earth’s day, in reversed position,
amazed at its travels across the sky.

Time is enough to move us along in our lives
even if we stay still as the sun
amazed at its travels across a sky
that does the work of turning while it burns.

Even if we stay still as the sun,
even without reference for our movement,
we do the work of turning while we burn
our gathered sugars in a gorgeous flame.

Even without reference for our movement,
our spheres of influence are each a planet.
We gather sugars till the gorgeous flames
of autumn burn and crumble into soil.

Our spheres of influence are each a planet
springing into life on one half only
as autumn burns the other to crumbs and soils
the green unfolding and the new life blazing.

Springing into life on one half only
makes you dizzy, like a child’s spinning.
The green’s unfolding and a new life’s blazing,
evolving here to still another translation

that makes you dizzy, like a child’s spinning
on an early April morning. To praise the creation,
still evolving, here’s another translation:
blessed you make the making of the beginning.