Works of Art

Contest entry for Bi-weekly Oriental Poetry Contest(August 1-August 15)

The Pantoum was originally a Malaysian form of poetry, but was adopted and adapted by the French and became very popular with them, Fouinet, Hugo and Baudelaire, being amongst the foremost users of this form. The French liked it probably because of the way the quatrains were linked to each other, making it similar to existing French forms.

The rhyme pattern is as follows; A1, B1, A2, B2, ... B1, C1, B2, C2, etc, the last stanza being Z1, A2, Z2, A1, note the reversal of the final repeat couplet thus completeing the circle.

Unlike most of these strict repeating forms if we retain the original Malaysian format, there is no set stanza count, syllable count, or need for the last stanza to repeat back to the first. This makes the Pantoum ideal for narratives that demand repetition or emphasis. The French tend to use an eight syllable count and repeat back to the first stanza.





Glorious sunsets in brilliant hues
Painted by the Master’s hand;
Lavenders, oranges, reds, and blues,
Each one different but equally grand!

Painted by the Master’s hand,
Sunset bids the day goodbye.
Each one different but equally grand,
It welcomes the evening sky.

A canopy of stars appear
Each one different but equally grand.
Majestic opus, so bright and clear
Painted by the Master’s hand.