Magic beans – an invitation to try this poetry prompt
The pantoum is an old Malay poetic form that was brought to the west by the French and in recent years, has gained some popularity amongst English-speaking writers. One reason is that the poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama, who hosts a beautiful poetry podcast, has been offering pantoum prompts on his Substack for the past three years. What a gift! I’ve used his pantoum prompts with my students, as well as with the faculty and staff writing group I host (53 writing sessions, to date!) and it always, without fail, produces magical poems. I’ll share Ó Tuama’s prompts below, as well as the poem that materialized for me yesterday when I was writing with my colleagues and then I invite you to try it for yourself.
All you need to know about the pantoum is that it is comprised of just 8 unique lines, which you then rearrange into 4-line stanzas that repeat 2 lines from the previous stanza, while introducing 2 new lines. If you know how to braid hair, it’s almost like you’re braiding lines of poetry. It’s not as complex as it sounds...although, the Latin root of complex means to entwine and weave, so maybe it is complex, though I promise, its complexity is not in the process, which is probably what makes it so magical. Something about the way the repetitions happen either give the poem an expansiveness, like widening circles, or a suffocating spiraling in. It depends on how you write your 8 lines, but somehow, the form knows how to shape the tone of your poem. You’ll see!
Here are Pádraig Ó Tuama’s prompts. My suggestion is to number your 8 lines, and then rewrite and re0rder them later, using the pantoum template.
1. Where are you? What place? A village? a guest house? A city?
2. What’s a night sound from outside you hear regularly?
3. What’s a night sound from inside you hear regularly?
4. What can you see in the dark?
5. Who is nearby? Neighbours? Owls? Mice? What’s happening for them?
6. What’s time doing?
7. What physical sensations can you feel when you wake at night?
8. What’s one thing that’s on your mind when you wake?
After you have your 8 lines, reorder them according to this template. Something to note is that you can adjust and adapt your repeated lines however you feel you need to. You’ll see that in my pantoum below, I’ve made a few slight alterations.
1 ______
2 ______
3 ______
4 ______
2 ______
5 ______
4 ______
6 ______
5 ______
7 ______
6 ______
8 ______
7 ______
3 ______
8 ______
1 ______
Here’s my pantoum (instead of nighttime sounds, I went with early morning sounds):
Early morning pantoum
In the city, cradled by mountains,
A high whistle, a hoot, then the sputtering of a 50cc moped dropping off the news,
Coffee gurgling, sighing, promising –
The denim sky, indigo outlines of mountains like the profile of a reclining woman – forehead, nose, long neck
A high whistle, a hoot, then the sputtering of a 50cc moped delivering the same old news;
Across the way, a lit matchbox window, someone else is starting her day.
The denim sky, indigo outlines of mountains like the profile of a sleeping woman – forehead, nose, her long, long neck.
Or maybe, across the way, time runs counter, and she is ending her night.
Across the way, behind a yellow matchbox window, she will soon close her eyes,
It’s so still I’ve forgotten what my voice sounds like – or if I even have one.
Maybe, time runs counter.
I will pray for another day.
It’s so still I’ve forgotten what my voice sounds like.
Coffee sighing, promising –
A prayer for another day.
In the city, I am cradled.
__
If you try this exercise, share your pantoum with me! I would love to see what grew from your magic beans.