THE PANTOUM

Author's Comments

Victor-Marie Hugo is responsible for introducing the Malaysian Pantun to European writers. The Pantoum is a fixed form consisting of a varying number of four-line stanzas (quatrains) with a rhyme scheme of abab. The second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated to form the first and third lines of the succeeding stanza, with the first and third lines of the first stanza forming the second and fourth of the last stanza, but in reverse order, so that the opening and closing lines of the poem are identical. The poems listed below are my modest attempts at creating the Pantoum:

* That Possums’ Wear

* The Asian Tsunami of 2004

Victor-Marie Hugo (February 26, 1802 - May 22, 1885) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, visual artist, statesman and human rights campaigner. He was recognized as the most influential Realist writer of the 19th Century. His birthplace was Besancon, France and is burial spot is in Paris, France.

What sets apart the Pantoum from the original Malaysian Pantun? The Pantun follows the same rhyme and line patterns of the Pantoum but differs in these essential respects. Though it is traditionally improvised, the theme or the meaning is conveyed in the second to lines of each quatrain, while the first two lines present an image or allusion which may or may not have an obvious connection with the theme.

An allusion is an implied or indirect reference to something assumed to be known, such as a historical event or personage, a well-known quotation from literature or famous work of art. It can be used by the poet as a means of imagery, since like a symbol; it can suggest ideas by connotation. Like allegories and parodies, its effectiveness depends upon the reader’s acquaintance with the reference alluded to in the write.

Imagery is any literary reference to the five senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste). Essentially, imagery is any words that create a picture in one’s head. Such images can be planted by using figures of speech, such as similes, metaphors, personification, and assonance.

An allegory is the figurative illustration of truth or generalization about human conduct or experience in a narrative or description by the use of symbolic fictional figures and actions which the reader then interprets as a likeness to the subject’s properties and circumstances. Though similar to a series of symbols and an extended metaphor, the meaning of an allegory is more direct and less subject to ambiguity than a symbol. The allegory is distinguishable from an extended metaphor in that the literal equivalent of an allegory’s figurative comparison is not usually expressed. The best know allegory is English Literature is Edmund Spenser’s poem, “The faerie Queene.”

A parody is a ludicrous imitation, usually intended for comic effect but more so for ridicule, of both the style and content of another work. The humour depends upon the reader’s familiarity with the original. Sir John Suckling’s poem, “A Ballad upon a Wedding” is a parody of an epithalamium (a wedding song or poem in honour of the bride and bridegroom).

That Possums' Wear

(In Pantoum)

That possums’ wear!
It is unsightly, without a doubt,
On willows, and pollard outerwear.
The trees are finding it hard, this spring, to sprout.

It is unsightly, without a doubt.
We see such headless trunks, without leaves.
The trees are finding it hard, this spring, to sprout;
When rain doth fall, amid the breeze.

We see such headless trunks, without leaves,
On barren lands that slip away,
When rain doth fall, amid the breeze;
Afforestation is the challenge, day by day.

On barren lands that slip away,
Veggie roots no longer cling, to the ground.
Afforestation is the challenge, day by day,
When, omnivorous possums everywhere, abound.

Veggie roots, no longer cling to the ground,
So bees and birds, don’t build their nests,
When omnivorous possums, everywhere abound;
They are such invasive squirmy pests.

So bees and birds, don’t build their nests;
On account of these marauding bush tail rats,
For they are such invasive pests,
So very fat, they look like tabby cats.

On account of these marauding bush tail rats,
The environment, we must protect from this ragtag lot,
So very fat, they look like tabby cats;
They need to be dealt with on the spot.

The environment, we must protect from this ragtag lot,
Because their sticky underwear, truly clings.
They need to be dealt with on the spot;
We say, make their pelts, into all sorts of things.

Because their sticky underwear, truly clings,
On willows and pollard outerwear;
We say, make their pelts, into all sorts of things,
That possums’ wear.

©Paterika Hengreaves
Spring 2004/New Zealand

The Asian Tsunami of 2004

(In Pantoum)


Tsunami is only nodding in a water-bed, this creep,
After his Yuletide feast,
This beast, is never truly asleep
In the deep ocean in the east.

After his Yuletide feast,
Drunk with human gore,
In the deep ocean in the east,
And drenched in water, is the beast.

Drunk with human gore;
Churning, tossing and snoring as before,
And drenched in water, is the beast
In a restless mood.

Churning, tossing and snoring as before,
Thinking what his next meal would include.
In a restless mood,
Bereaved families, ride the waves of despair.

Thinking what his next meal would include,
After the devastation in Aceh and elsewhere,
Bereaved families, ride the waves of despair;
Horrendous events as such, flooded their minds.

After the devastation in Aceh and elsewhere,
The threat of hurricanes, cyclones and Kick ‘em Jenny,
Horrendous events as such, flooded their minds;
In reminiscent, of the Caribbean mighty, gusty winds.

The threat of hurricanes, cyclones and Kick ‘em Jenny,
Words of advice, from meteorologists are many.
In reminiscent, of the Caribbean mighty, gusty winds,
Much preparedness constantly must be.

Words of advice from meteorologists are many:
This beast, is never truly asleep,
Much preparedness constantly must be,
Tsunami is only nodding in a water-bed, this creep.

©Paterika Hengreaves
Summer 2004/New Zealand

OPEN FORM

Author's Comments

Open Form poetry for all intent and purposes is really Free Verse. It relies on the spontaneous process which comes when the poet is not ruled by poetic constructs. This is so because the use of regular rhythmic patterns, that is, the metrical feet is abandoned. Also, it does not usually rhyme but when there is rhyming it is natural and does not send off the feeling of being forced.

To sum this up, Open Form has freed itself from all the shackles commonly associated with traditional poetry. This liberation as it were, does free the mind from dictates established, but there is an upside and a downside to this paradigm shift, the latter being greater. Persons well versed in the traditional ways of writing poetry invariably do not find difficulty when it comes for them to write Open Form. This is therefore not hard to understand why. However, it is usually not the case the other way around.

I make no apologies for saying that Open Form does little in the way of pushing the poetic bar to newer and daring heights. Poets with a passion for aesthetic nature of poetry find themselves pushing poetry to even greater heights. They are not contented to merely be caught up in poetic complacency that is more often than not the case with Open Form for which this style has the tendency to do. Especially when Open Form poetry does not exhibit a rich imagery and a rhythmic cadence that is powerful. In the final analysis, without these two important aspects of Open Form for which there is no other way to evaluate its greatness, it is not hard to see this form being relegated to what some may say just another display of verbal diarrhea.

Mind you, I’m not saying that Open Form is bad poetry, all I’m trying to say is that it tends to stymie poetic growth especially when its imagery is not vibrant or the cadence flawed as is the case of much published free verse poetry. So, in a way as free as Open Form may sound without some basic structure for guidance it falls flat on its face. So can there be such a thing as free verse! Just think about that. We tend to pull down time tested walls to build on shifting sands but sooner or later we find ourselves shifting gears and returning to base camp again, and that’s what’s happening to poetry today. People are returning to structures of yesteryear or at least acknowledging the good to be gained when poetry is pushed far beyond the qualifying bar.

I like to give Jack his jacket once I know that it will fit well. I said that to say this, I have great respect for E. E. Cummings who experimented radically with form, punctuation, spelling and syntax by way of abandoning traditional techniques and structures to create a new, highly idiosyncratic means of poetic expression. He created the way for all and sundry to delve into poetry even more so for those who some people would say have no passion for academia. He amassed this gigantic following among the youth because his artistry’s simplicity and playful mode on his topics of war and sex.

No doubt, from reading the aforesaid, you may rush to conclude that I don’t like Open Form or wouldn’t write it. Far from the truth. I like all forms of poetry though some may score a higher rating nevertheless I try my head and hands at them all. It is the challenge they present and the satisfaction of striving for versatility in my creative artistry. However, there are essential aspects which I need to get from poetry whether from reading it or from writing it; to read me is to know me and here is the opening line of a poem, “If poetry be the food of the senses....” that gives a peek into what my poetic needs and what can bring me great and sustainable satisfaction. Click here to read the full poem.