Loss Pantoum
Last night I dreamed I was at Chase Lake,
in the little cabin my parents built.
Mom and Dad and Aunt Maggie were there.
We ate chicken and sweet corn on the screened porch.
In the little cabin my parents built
beside the lake in the southern Adirondacks
we ate chicken and sweet corn on the screened porch.
The setting sun painted clouds red and gold.
Beside the lake in the southern Adirondacks
summers were magic, winters silent white.
The setting sun painted clouds red and gold
when we paddled the canoe out after dinner.
Summers were magic, winters silent white.
Then, quicker than thought, the cabin was sold.
We paddled the canoe out after dinner
not knowing it would be the last time.
Quicker than thought, the cabin was sold.
Mom and Dad and Aunt Maggie are dead.
We never knew it would be the last time.
Last night I dreamed I was at Chase Lake.
12 thoughts on "Loss Pantoum"
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This is so beautiful. Nicely done.
Beautiful — our time is so short! Wonderful profile of a special place.
Perfect form. And perfect tale for it.
Thank you. Wonderful.
Quicker than thought, the cabin was sold: how we lose what we cherish
Yes! I love this. I don’t know the name of the style but I love it!
Lovely!
Finely crafted. A nice drop moment.
I meant to say mic drop. 🙂
Beautiful 🙂
The story and form work perfectly together! Great job! Thanks for sharing.
I agree with what others have said about the form and content working so harmoniously together
Oh, I love this, Gwyneth. Such a tender elegy to a time and place, and the people who inhabited it. The pantoum form really works here.