Menominee River Pantoums

Dear George,

In our poetry writing class we learned about a type of poem called a pantoum.  Pantoums are based on a Malayan form that goes back to the fifteenth century.  They’re composed in a series of four-line stanzas.  Lines 2 and 4 of the first stanza become lines 1 and 3 in the second stanza, and so on.  At the end of the poem lines 1 and 3 are repeated in the final stanza.  The lines may or may not rhyme.  The format for a five-stanza pantoum would look like this: ABCD BEDF EGFH GIHJ IAJC.  Baudelaire and Victor Hugo were among writers who popularized the pantoum in the nineteenth century, and Anne Waldman and Donald Justice are among contemporary American poets who have written pantoums.  Pantoums move along slowly, and, because of their interlocking pattern, the lines seem to fill the poem with echoes.

I tried writing a couple of pantoums, and it’s not easy.  Lines not only need to rhyme and connect with one another within a stanza, but they also have to then fit with new lines in the next stanza, and finally come together at the end.  For pantoum topics, I picked my childhood experiences growing up on the Menominee River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  I’ve written various stories about my Menominee childhood before, but putting these experiences in pantoum form gives them a distinct flavor.  Here’s how my Menominee River pantoums are coming along.  (As far as I can tell, one never actually finishes a pantoum.)

Love,

Dave  

1.  River House

We moved to the river in forty-six

There were no other children nearby

The field was home to horseflies and ticks

At dusk we could hear the loon cry

There were no other children nearby

We lived on a long gravel road           

At dusk we could hear the loon cry

My grandfather built our abode

We lived on a long gravel road

The oaks were sixty feet high

My grandfather built our abode 

It opened to the river and the sky

The oaks were sixty feet high

Our house was of Norway pine

It opened to the river and the sky

Close friends came to talk and to dine

Our house was of Norway pine

My mother cooked whitefish and liver

Close friends came to talk and to dine

Mallard ducks flew in on the river

My mother cooked whitefish and liver

We had no locks on our doors

Mallard ducks flew in on the river

Four foot snakes lived under our floors

We had no locks on our doors

We climbed on the willow tree

Four foot snakes lived under our floors

My sister got stung by a bee

We climbed on the willow tree

We played on our basketball court

My sister got stung by a bee

In the woods we built our own fort

We played on our basketball court

We had acorn fights in the yard

In the woods we built our own fort

Swimming the river was hard

We had acorn fights in the yard

We shot cans with the twenty-two

Swimming the river was hard

The dogs got raw bones to chew

We shot cans with the twenty-two

My mother grew violets and lilies

The dogs got raw bones to chew

We children fell prey to the willies

My mother grew violets and lilies

The trillium bloomed in the spring

We children fell prey to the willies

My dad built my sister a swing

The trillium bloomed in the spring

The field was home to horseflies and ticks

My dad built my sister a swing

We moved to the river in forty-six

2.  The River

We lived far out on the River Road

Pig Island was across the way

Down the river the flotsam flowed

We swam from our yard every day

Pig Island was across the way

We took like fish to the water

We swam from our yard every day

My brother trapped muskrats and otter

We took like fish to the water

Our mother watched from the lawn

My brother trapped muskrats and otter

We might spot a doe or a fawn

Our mother watched from the lawn

Fishermen passed by the shore

We might spot a doe or a fawn

At sundown the herons would soar

Fishermen passed by the shore

The bloodsuckers stuck to our toes

At sundown the herons would soar

I sprayed my brother with the hose

The bloodsuckers stuck to our toes

We'd wade near the bank with our dogs

I sprayed my brother with the hose

We built a crude raft from dry logs

We'd wade near the bank with our dogs

Indian Island was our family trip

We built a crude raft from dry logs

We sailed forth in our pirate ship

Indian Island was our family trip

Dragonflies rode on our boat

We sailed forth in our pirate ship

We'd jump into the water and float

Dragonflies rode on our boat

The snapping turtles made us wary

We'd jump into the water and float

The river was thrilling but scary

The snapping turtles made us wary

Great hawks swooped down from the sky

The river was thrilling but scary

We feared there was quicksand nearby

Great hawks swooped down from the sky

Down the river the flotsam flowed

We feared there was quicksand nearby

We lived far out on the River Road

3.  Winter

Chipmunks gathered nuts from the cedar

The north winds blew in with a squall

My mother fed birds at her feeder

The snowdrifts grew massive and tall

The north winds blew in with a squall

The deer came to munch the dried weeds

The snowdrifts grew massive and tall

Tiny chickadees searched for their seeds

The deer came to munch the dried weeds

The whole of the forest seemed dead

Tiny chickadees searched for their seeds

I tramped through the woods with my sled

The whole of the forest seemed dead

We fished through the ice on the river

I tramped through the woods with my sled

The wind from the bay made us shiver

We fished through the ice on the river

The icicles stretched to the ground

The wind from the bay made us shiver

The night sky was black with no sound

The icicles stretched to the ground

Dad cut down a tall Christmas spruce

The night sky was black with no sound

My mother made ham and a goose

Dad cut down a tall Christmas spruce

Our cousins arrived Christmas eve

My mother made ham and a goose

I played checkers with Peter and Steve

Our cousins arrived Christmas eve

We followed deer tracks in the snow

I played checkers with Peter and Steve

The fireplace gave off its glow

We followed deer tracks in the snow

By March the ice started to melt

The fireplace gave off its glow

The river was teeming with smelt

By March the ice started to melt

We called it Chinese Bells Day

The river was teeming with smelt

The skies were milky and gray

We called it Chinese Bells Day

A robin appeared on the lawn

The skies were milky and gray

Spring opened her eyes with a yawn

A robin appeared on the lawn

Chipmunks gathered nuts from the cedar

Spring opened her eyes with a yawn

My mother fed birds at her feeder