From No Man’s Land
A Pantoum
You
son of no man
made of brittle ash and dust
come from no man's land
son of no man
waiting to burn
come from no man's land
in your mother's hollow rib
waiting to burn
like kerosene
in your mother's hollow rib
you move
like kerosene
like a cigarette bud
you move
so close it stings
like a cigarette bud
your father's name
so close it stings
blisters on your lips
your father's name
a debt of being born
blisters on your lips
do you remember it?
a debt of being born
in no man's land
do you remember it?
your mother's face?
in no man's land
city of tar and smoke
your mother's face
is that how it goes?
city of tar and smoke
nobody holds anyone
is that how it goes?
alone even in death?
nobody holds anyone
even in life we are
alone, even in death
there is no one
even in life we are
made of brittle ash and dust
and there is no one
like you
This poem is a Pantoum. A pantoum is made of quatrains where lines 2 and 4 of the first Stanza become lines 1 and 3 of the next.