The bridge between loss and tomorrow

[Ruth]

Talking River Review, from Lewis-Clark State University, has two of my poems in their latest issue. Here’s one of them .

the bridge between loss and tomorrow

between then and now
soars as if then could come again
riding a Ferris wheel of the mind
followed by the sea advancing

soaring as if then had come again
but simpler and long before
the sea began advancing
with the kick of an indolent swimmer

in simpler times and long before
the photograph had faded pale,
you came like an indolent swimmer
floating on a summer sea

where the photograph had faded pale
and seagulls swam the sky
as if floating on a summer sea
and you were the skin of my world

when seagulls swam the sky
above memories slippery as oil slicks
and you were the skin of my world
and time was still and full of stars

and memories slipped like oil slicks
on a Ferris wheel of the mind
and time was still and full of stars
suspended between then and now

[Dirk, Moderator]

This one I had to read multiple times, Ruth, but I like it.
Especially how you use repetition.
It feels a bit like a lyric for a song...

[Ruth]

Thanks, Dirk. It’s a form called a pantoum. I seldom write anything but free verse, but when I do it’s often a pantoum. Here’s an explanation of it. https://poets.org/glossary/pantoum

[Connie]

That's a beautiful form of poetry, Ruth. I love how you came full circle with the Ferris wheel (which is also going in a circle).

[Ruth]

Thanks, Connie. This was a poem that just wasn’t working as free verse. When I switched to a pantoum, it fell into place.