Published on

When There's No Light

Authors

The Poem

With each turn
I see our lives—
When I close my eyes,
I end this world and start another

I see our lives
in this kaleidoscope;
I end this world and start another
by twisting a rusty dial.

In this kaleidoscope,
rubies drown in aquamarine.
By twisting a rusty dial,
embers emerge from the ocean.

Rubies drown in aquamarine
when we live far apart;
Embers emerge from the ocean
when we lie together.

When we live far apart,
I remember my home.
When we lie together,
I know how close it is

I remember my home
with each turn—
I know how close it is
when I close my eyes.

Commentary

I think form poetry is fascinating. This is my attempt at a pantoum. I actually wrote the first draft of it a long while ago, was okay with it enough and shelved it. Later, I had a particularly intense long distance relationship and I felt inspired to revisit it. This is what I ended up with.