Like a Soldier: A Contemporary Pantoum Poem

The following poem is a pantoum. This form of poetry is very structured and unique. The first line of the poem is also the last. The third line is the second-to-last. You will notice that many of the lines are repeated with different punctuation. The second and fourth lines of one stanza become the first and third lines of the next.

This is a pantoum I wrote years ago when I was first getting into poetry and learning how to write with structured forms. I always liked more structure rather than free-verse because I have to force myself to create something beautiful out of something with such authority.

This poem is about breaking away from the norm--or from something that seemed to be so solid at first--and breaking through to pure confidence in change. The re-contextualization of the lines in this poem symbolize the reconstruction of the narrator's life.

I hope that people enjoy this poem as a narrative about unexpected change and new-found confidence. We all have some fear of change and I wanted to show that although we feel like our lives are supposed to follow a structure, they sometimes do not.

“Don’t make me do this,” I said

And turned toward the door.

He stood tall, like a soldier.

So I left,

And turned toward the door,

Realizing he was wrong.

So, I left

To find comfort with friends.

Realizing he was wrong—

It was the first step

To find comfort. With friends,

I poured my heart on the table.

It was the first step

That was the hardest.

I poured my heart on the table.

Now what am I?

That? Was the hardest

Part of leaving him being alone?

Now what am I

a

Part of? Leaving him, being alone,

Now, it’s just me.

Singular.

And I walk back to the home

Now. “It’s just me,”

I said and

He stood tall, like a soldier.

“Don’t make me do this,” I said.

A pantoum is unique because of it's structure. I suggest you attempt to write your own pantoum if you ever have writer's block. Writing a pantoum can be a great exercise for struggling writers attempting to create something out of recycled lines. I find that this structure, although it has no rhyming or syllable restrictions, has a form that many will find fun and enjoyable to write.

This poem in particular uses punctuation to change the context of each repeated line. As this woman attempts to leave the comfortable structure in her life, it seems the only thing keeping her moving is the love of others and the ability to have repetition and stability in her life. I hope you like what I have done here and I appreciate any comments, questions or critiques that you may like to share in the comments section. Aloha and Mahalo.