Snow Pantoum

An original pantoum written by me in 2005. It was first used in an Audio forum, and a kind stranger asked if he could do a sound mix for me. The audio languished for a few years, and I wanted to freshen it up with a few images by some of my favorite artists. As always, I want to thank ArtMagick for the use of their images, and my apologies to them for neglecting the credit in this video. The words to the poem follow--

Snow Pantoum

It seemed enormous snowflakes were falling down -
They were swept from place to place on the ground;
I did not remember how different each one was,
However infinite the number during a storm.

They were swept from place to place on the ground;
My age told me that I could not separate the flakes
However infinite the number during a storm -
But something told me I could no longer hold infinity in my palm.

My age told me that I could not separate the flakes.
Maybe, I could roll the universe into a glistening ball
But something told me I could no longer hold infinity in my palm,
When so much looks the same to me.

Maybe I could roll the universe into a glistening ball -
See each unique design, see each miniscule pattern
When so much looks the same to me
Within the melting space between my fingers!

See each unique design! See each miniscule pattern!
It would be impossible to see all the differences
Within the melting space between my fingers
In the darkest hour of night when there is no light...

It would be impossible to see all the differences
Between you and me,
In the darkest hour of night, when there is no light -
Except for the lone candle waiting for the moon to rise.

©Susan Katz
02/25/2005 - present

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

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• Barbier
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• Léon
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• John
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• Waterhouse
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• pantoum

[jerrypaul100]

Great poem...but it's not a pantoum if it doesn't have a set metre; either iambic tetrameter or pentameter.

[chiaroscurofx]

@jerrypaul100

nah. not true, jp. i appreciate your response. thanks. but pantoums can be confusing as they appear with different meters and different rhyme schemes. i just wrote another trying to use a 1/2-way decent tetrameter (which i thought nobody used! duh). a favorite pantoum of mine was written by Donald Justice. it's a great one, and you'll see--he doesn't stick to any meter. it's called Pantoum of the Great Depression.

[chiaroscurofx]

@chiaroscurofx

p.s. the only thing that needs sticking to is the way the lines rise and fall and repeat.

[stellamirus]

Very evocative and haunting. Lovely to hear it read by the author. As always, you amaze me.

Annie

[chiaroscurofx]

Thank you, Annie. Glad you enjoyed this one.

[megansspark]

lovely....very well conveyed! thanks :)

[chiaroscurofx]

Thanks megan, as always. :)

[toMochika27]

The first time I ever heard a pantoum, and that first time was and always will be BREATHTAKING......