When I was teaching I found that many of my students were a bit hesitant to attempt writing poetry. As one who felt the same way as a student I understood their fear, but I wanted them to see that they can do it. One of the first forms I introduced them to was the pantoum. Since this was a simple format and they liked the fact that it looked like they wrote more lines than they had to, all my students were successful.
I hadn’t thought about this in years but somehow trying to come up with a topic for today this popped into my head. This is not very polished since I just wrote it so that I could have something to publish for today.
So, here is my pantoum.
Possibilities
A star filled night
No clouds to hinder the view.
Temperatures drop as the night progresses.
Come morning frost blankets the ground.
No clouds to hinder the view.
I feel one with the universe.
Come morning frost blankets the ground.
What will the day hold?
I feel one with the universe.
There is nothing holding me back.
What will the day hold?
Where will my journey begin?
There is nothing holding me back.
I can feel the power within.
Where will my journey begin?
Experiences just waiting to happen.
I can feel the power within.
Come evening what will I have accomplished?
Experiences just waiting to happen.
Will I have explored all that the day holds?
Come evening what will I have accomplished?
Temperatures drop as the night progresses.
Will I have explored all that the day holds?
A star filled night.
arjeha 
Fascinating format. I read and reread to see how your lines worked to create this poem. Thank you for sharing.
It is the repetition of the lines that make this poem unique and easy for students to write.
Bob, I never tried a pantoum but I am willing to take up the challenge. Maybe I can craft a poem for the next segment of my Poemtober series with your poem as format model. “I can feel the power within.” This is a note of confidence as you move into the last stanza where the last line, “A star filled night,” gives the proper nod to nature’s beauty that was introduced in the beginning.
Thanks, Carol. My students really liked working with this format. They loved knowing that they only had to write half as many lines as the poem contained. A friend of mine from our Writing Institute introduced me to this format and I just fell in love with it because of its seeming simplicity.