[Note: Pantoums are based on a Malayan form that goes back to the fifteenth century. They’re composed in a series of four-line stanzas. Lines 2 and 4 of the first stanza become lines 1 and 3 in the second stanza, and so on. At the end of the poem lines 1 and 3 are repeated in the final stanza. The format for a five-stanza pantoum would look like this: ABCD BEDF EGFH GIHJ IAJC. Baudelaire and Victor Hugo were among writers who popularized the pantoum in the nineteenth century.]
1. The River
We lived far from town on the River Road
Pig Island was across the way
Down the river the flotsam flowed
We swam off our shore every day
Pig Island was across the way
We took like fish to the water
We swam off our shore every day
My brother trapped muskrats and otter
We took like fish to the water
Our mother watched from the lawn
My brother trapped muskrats and otter
We might spot a doe or a fawn
Our mother watched from the lawn
Fishermen passed by the shore
We might spot a doe or a fawn
At sundown the herons would soar
Fishermen passed by the shore
The bloodsuckers stuck to our toes
At sundown the herons would soar
I sprayed my brother with the hose
The bloodsuckers stuck to our toes
We'd wade near the bank with our dogs
I sprayed my brother with the hose
We built a crude raft from dry logs
We'd wade near the bank with our dogs
Indian Island was our family trip
We built a crude raft from dry logs
We sailed forth in our pirate ship
Indian Island was our family trip
Dragonflies rode on our boat
We sailed forth in our pirate ship
We'd jump in the water and float
Dragonflies rode on our boat
The snapping turtles made us wary
We'd jump in the water and float
The river was thrilling but scary
The snapping turtles made us wary
Great hawks swooped down from the sky
The river was thrilling but scary
We feared there was quicksand nearby
Great hawks swooped down from the sky
Down the river the flotsam flowed
We feared there was quicksand nearby
We lived far from town on the River Road
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