-Waiting at the Terminal-
Poem-a-day entry number two. This is a pantoum poem. In pantoums, the words from lines two and four of every stanza repeat as lines one and three of the next stanza. Although the words should repeat exactly, punctuation is often shifted to change the meaning in unexpected ways. Enjoy!
—
-Waiting at the Terminal-
I know it is a beginning
because I hold my elbows
different. Rub the scaly
bits, and I can’t stop.
Because I hold my elbows,
I have so many squirmy
bits and– I can’t stop
having to do something.
I have so many squirmy
relatives. Can’t look, but
having to. Do something!
There is nothing to do.
Relatives can’t look, but
the pinewood lies open.
There is nothing to do;
it feels like Velcro.
The pinewood lies. Open
some rum or a window.
It feels like Velcro!
I can’t drink this. Can’t breathe.
Some rum or a window
prove suffocating as before.
I can’t drink. This can’t-breathe
feeling is now in my wrists.
Prove suffocating: as before
a test, or inside plastic wrap.
Feeling is now. In my wrists
I know it is a beginning.
