The pantoum is a poetic form originating in 15th century Malaysia
that uses repetition. It’s a poem of any length composed of
four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza
serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza.
The final stanza is often two lines from the first stanza.

burn – a pantoum

1999

a tattoo was scorched on my heart
I’ve carried the brand for decades
singed with the name of God
I did not ask for this

for decades I’ve carried the brand
claimed by a vaster power
I did not ask for this
but, like it or not, I was taken

claimed by a boundless power
surrender, the viable option
like it or not, I was taken,
found grace was hidden inside

surrender the only option
I apprehended the way to bow
and found grace was buried inside
the sacred unseen impression

I discovered the courage to bow
and chose renunciation within—
the sacred unseen impression
carried truth only I could know

singed with the name of God
a tattoo was scorched on my heart

2023 ©Amrita Skye Blaine
I’m writing a poem a day. These are drafts—not final versions.