Source Poems: "We Are Waiting (a pantoum)"

For National Poetry Month 2014, I have invited 17 authors and poets to guest post about source poems. In this series of essays, each writer will describe a single poem's significance in his or her life.

Today's guest blogger poet Jone MacCulloch. Jone blogs about being a K-5 librarian at Check it Out.

Jone MacCulloch

There were a lot of poets on my mind when I signed up to guest blog here. I could select Naomi Shihab Nye or William Stafford or William Carlos Williams (already featured). Each one has influenced my writing. However, one poet is responsible for teaching me the following poetry form.

Whenever I write a poem using the pantuom form, I am thankful for Joyce Sidman's book Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow. [What is a pantoum?]

"We Are Waiting (a pantuom)" was tucked into the back half of this book which I was reading as a judge for the CYBILS Poetry Award in 2006. (Read about it here.) This poetry form is also found in Joyce’s book This is Just to Say.

We Are Waiting (a pantuom)

By Joyce Sidman

Our time will come again,

Say the patient ones.

Now is meadow,

But not for long.

Say the patient ones:

Sunlight dazzles,

but not for long.

Seedlings grow amongst the grass.

Sunlight dazzles,

and the meadow voles dance,

but seedlings grow amongst the grass.

Forest will return.

Meadow voles dance,

where once was fire,

but forest will return.

We wait patiently.

Once was fire,

Now is meadow.

We wait patiently.

Our time will come again.

What are we?

I read and reread this poem. Its musicality captivates me. It feels like a call and response in the simple complexity of repeating lines. I love the weaving of the lines, a tapestry of words. There's a story here. Something has happened in what was once the forest.

"We Are Waiting" is a perfect source poem for close reading with students. Asking them what they notice about the poems and its structure provides great discussions. Sidman's website is an excellent resource for all poetry aficionados.

Sidman's poem mentors me. Rereading this poem is important to my process of writing a pantuom. While I've not memorized this poem (or many others, as I hate memorizing), the cadence of this poem is with me. Sidman suggests to begin with a topic that's a passion for you. I write down several phrases about the topic. Then like a jigsaw puzzle, I arrange the lines, fitting them together. It's a time to play around with the line order.

For my response to "We Are Waiting" I borrowed the first line of Joyce’s  poem and a few other words.

I love what happens in spring. In February, when we had snow, there were the daffodils emerging in my front flower box. They are followed by the pink tulips. And there’s nothing better than listening to the arrival of the robins, a harbinger of spring days.

Jone's daffodils are eager for spring.

Spring

By Jone MacCulloch

Our time will come again,

say the emerging daffodils

in the dazzle of the sun

as pink calypso tulips bloom.

Say the emerging daffodils:

Our time is brief

as pink calypso tulips bloom

during spring's first rain.

Our time is brief,

sing the robins

during spring's first rain

while worms wriggle in the grass.

Sing the robins,

We'll be back

while worms wriggle in the grass

nectar awaits the first arrival of bees.

We'll be back

in the dazzle of the sun

nectar awaits the first arrival of bees.

Our time will come.

© 2014 Jone Rush MacCulloch 

Joyce Sidman

Jone is a teacher-librarian during the school year, who writes, reads, and blogs (personal blog, Deowriter and school blog Check It Out) the rest of the time. She’d rather write poetry than memorize it. She has had haiku published in Acorn; A Journal of Contemporary Haiku and the Haiku Society of American Members' Anthology. In 2012, she self-published a small collection of poetry and photography, Solace in Nature, and is currently working on a novel in verse. Helping with SCBWI-OR book sales is one way Jone gives back to a great writing community. You can follow Jone on Twitter @JoneMac53.

Previous posts in this series:

Laura Shovan on "This Is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams

Dylan Bargteil on "On Moral Leadership as a Political Dilemma" by June Jordan

J. C. Elkin on "Hannibal Clim" (author unknown)

Diane Mayr on a haiku by Basho