Pantoum

The pantoum is a poem of indefinite length made up of stanzas whose four lines are repeated in a pattern: lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are repeated as lines 1 and 3 of the next stanza, and so on as shown below.

___________________________(Line 1)
___________________________(Line 2)
___________________________(Line 3)
___________________________(Line 4)

___________________________(Line 5) - same as line 2
___________________________(Line 6)
___________________________(Line 7) - same as line 4
___________________________(Line 8)

___________________________(Line 9) - same as line 6
___________________________(Line 10)
___________________________(Line 11) - same as line 8
___________________________(Line 12)
And so on...

Part of the pleasure of the pantoum is the way its recurring lines gently and hypnotically twine in and out of one another, and the way they surprise us when they fit together in unexpected ways. Write a pantoum comprised of 6-8 stanzas, with meaningfully intertwined lines. Try to create an unexpected juxtaposition between the lines to achieve surprise or irony.

Example from Christopher Lane:

A man outside my window

The cat meowed and purred
I kneel by the fire
The darkness comes soon

The cat meowed and purred
She walked between my legs
The darkness comes soon
The stars will guide my way

She walked between my legs
She ran into the house
The stars will guide my way
I walk the beaten path

She ran into the house
Hiding away from me
I walk the beaten path
Stone, sand, and shell

Hiding away from me
The man peeks out
Stone, sand and shell
I stumble to the ground

The man peeks out
He hides behind the tree
I stumble to the ground
I'm running out of steam

Night turns to day
I kneel by the fire
Tapping at the glass
A man outside my window