Hello, friends!
This month our challenge was to pen a pantoum and — the only other rule — it had to include or feature an animal. Some of us used some version of this utterly lovely prompt by Pádraig Ó Tuama to get started, some of us used some version of this generator to get organized.
I drafted two — one about an owl (or rather, the absence of an owl — we didn’t get an owl in our box this spring!) and one about our dog who is, in his dotage, increasingly and utterly terrified of thunder. The dog won out this time around. And let’s face it… he usually does.
Busy week here so I’m definitely calling this a work-in-progress still, but here’s where it stands today:
Necessary and Too Much
By Liz Garton Scanlon
Forget the radar, storms bloom like magic
Disembodied over the aquifer
Each spring, these surprises are inevitable
But the dog quakes like bones of an old house
Disembodied over the aquifer
You can’t complain about rain, they say
But the dog quakes like bones of an old house
I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur
You can’t complain about rain, they say
Gutters break promises and spill secrets
I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur
And we shake and worry, the dog and I
Gutters break promises and spill secrets
Things can be necessary and too much
And we shake and worry, the dog and I
No thank you, we want to say but don’t
Things can be necessary and too much
Each spring, these surprises are inevitable
No thank you, we want to say but don’t
Forget the radar, storms bloom like magic
For more pantoums, visit:
Sara
Tricia
Tanita
Mary Lee
Kelly
Laura
And, bonus, our very own Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is hosting Poetry Friday!
That “necessary and too much” line is so powerful, as are your whispers into his fur. Best wishes for lots of rain and not too much thunder this spring!
“I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur” oh, that just breaks me. What else can we do in the face of what’s necessary and too much? You did such a nice job of keeping the lines even, too—mine got shorter and shorter as I tried to make the form work. And I love the idea of gutters spilling secrets, and storms blooming….all part of Spring’s surprises. I’m envisioning a whole series (or book?) about surprises and spring now. It’s an unusual angle….
Somehow those last stanzas of the pantoums pack a [new] punch. I’ll sit with “Things can be necessary and too much” — poor pup!
Oh, that poor puppy. Your whispers into his “folds of fur” are so touching, it’s hard not to resent that necessary rain… So much of life seems to fall into the category of “necessary and too much” all at once.
“The dog quakes like bones of an old house” is such a wonderful comparison. I also like “gutters break promises and spill secrets.” Lovely poem.
“I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur.” So many wonderful lines in this poem, Liz, but this is my favorite. And yes to necessary and too much. Sigh. This is just such a thoughtful, beautiful poem.
“I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur” … this line paints a picture of pure emotion. Thank you for sharing!
I really love how these lines weave and fit together differently! My favorite is: “Gutters break promises and spill secrets.” So great!
Oh, poor pup! At least he won out with getting his poem shared. I love the fur line too and then that it follows up with “And we shake and worry, the dog and I.” It is so sweet how you are really in it with him there.
Your opening and closing line, “Forget the radar, storms bloom like magic” so visual, and they definitely feel magical a blooming storm—also makes me think of a watercolor bloom, when there’s an excess of water and the colors kind of explode.
I also like the bond you and your dog share in, “And we shake and worry, the dog and I.” And the mysteries in, “Gutters break promises and spill secrets.” Terrific, thanks Liz!
Love the line “things can be necessary and too much” – so relatable. Hope your pup weathers all the storms.
One of my past dogs also was terrified, Liz. I feel sad for your sweet dog, and love your nurturing “I whisper shhh shhh into folds of fur”.
Oh, what a topic. I love the whispering shhh shhh into folds of fur” It’s such a tangible and sensory image. And this line: “Gutters break promises and spill secrets” Wow! We can sense the power of the storm through it. Really powerful poem, Liz. I hope there were no injuries or damage with the storm of which you write.
I agree with many comments above, but am touched mostly by how subtly you become one with your dog–WE want to say no thank you–and how perhaps dogs are one of the things that are necessary and also too much. Lovely, in an unsettled, stormy way.