TABLETOP PANTOUM
The calendar is on the table
next to the three-hole punch.
The coffee is cold in the cup.
There is a jar holding pens.
Next to the three-hole punch
two Aztec jars are sitting.
There is a jar holding pens.
A woman is writing on a computer.
Two Aztec jars are sitting—
did the jars once hold ashes?
A woman is writing on a computer,
searching for something lost.
Did the jar hold ashes?
One jar with a coupon sticking out.
Searching for something lost,
a woman turns her gaze inward.
One jar with a coupon sticking out.
There is a magnifying glass on the table.
A woman turns her gaze inwards.
She sees a maelstrom of blank pages.
There is a magnifying glass on the table.
A little girl is at the computer.
She sees a maelstrom of blank pages.
She needs her mother’s help.
A little girl is sitting at the computer.
The table is her life raft.
She sees a maelstrom of blank pages.
There is a calendar on the table.
—from Rattle #83, Spring 2024
Tribute to Collaboration
__________
Gail Dawson & Richard Garcia: “We wrote this poem based on the objects on the table right in front of us. Richard wrote the first stanza and Gail wrote the next stanza. We proceeded writing alternate stanzas until we felt it was finished. We were surprised how a poem could be written just using the objects right in front of us.”
