I was originally going to pair this poem with a different review–but that one isn’t scheduled until June and upon further thought, this does work with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.
Okay so I love writing poems. And I love using them to tell stories. This is a sad story about a friend who wants to me more than friends and the narrator. Who does not. The idea was bouncing around in my head for a while not quite clicking. Then I looked through one of my old college textbooks on poetry writing (because I am that person) and I saw the format for a pantoum. And it clicked.
I like pantoums a lot because they let me shuffle lines. Sestinas and other poems that only demand word repeats are always harder for me and, often, I don’t like the rhythm as much. In retrospect this probably could have worked as a villanelle but for now I’m happy with this form.
Just Friends: A Pantoum
–
I tell you again and again.
“You are my friend.”
But you never hear what I say.
You hear murmurs from a life we aren’t in.
–
You are my friend.
Drowning in moments you refused to take.
You hear murmurs from a life we aren’t in.
I can’t stand still waiting for you.
–
Drowning in moments you refused to take
Saying things again and again that I can’t return.
I can’t stand still waiting for you.
I can only give this one part of me.
–
Saying things again and again that I can’t return.
But you never hear what I say.
I can only give this one part of me.
Even if I had more—it wouldn’t be for you.
—
(This poem is an original work by me. Copyrighted. Please don’t steal it.)
Miss Print 