PAPA
Listen to Nancy Spence’s reading along with Oboe Instrumentalist Natalie Wren Murdoch
Though he was a far-off land, not there,
muted in the distance,
if you ask, I’ll say yes, I know he cared,
thoughts of him remain insistent.
Muted in the distance,
through rumor I felt cherished,
thoughts of him remain insistent,
an entire lifetime I’ve carried.
Through rumor I felt cherished,
feelings between us in reminiscence,
an entire lifetime I’ve carried
bonds, weighty in their persistence.
Feelings between us in reminiscence,
swarmed in the galaxy of his blue eyes,
bonds, weighty in their persistence,
the surest, securest of ties.
Swarmed in the galaxy of his blue eyes,
if you ask, I’ll say yes, I know he cared,
the surest, securest of ties,
though he was a far-off land, not there.
Jean Cassidy – October, 2009 for you emerging poets, this was my first attempt at writing a pantoum –
The pantoum is a poetic form derived from the pantun, a Malay verse form: specifically from the pantun berkait, a series of interwoven quatrains. (Wikipedia)
Photo: Dad, Tom, and me in Watervliet Michigan Summer, 1947
Sharron
it’s a very sweet photo and I am glad that you have it. it definitely can be a challenge to know that somebody cared or cares about us even though they do not use any of the ways familiar to us for showing how much we care. and, far-off lands, can be difficult to actually feel for us and I believe it is a credit that we persist in trying to get beneath the surface to the depth of truth
I like the poem a lot in it’s fullness of poignancy
love
Sharron