Pantoum: "Retrospect"

pantoum - a Malaysian verse form adapted by French poets and occasionally imitated in English. It comprises a series of quatrains, with the second and fourth lines of each quatrain repeated as the first and third lines of the next. The second and fourth lines of the final stanza repeat the first and third lines of the first stanza.

RETROSPECT

by Juliana Joy Child

Living in the moment means

that what you feel can only be

defined as such in retrospect.

If you are living honestly,

then what you feel can only be

a sensation at the time it’s felt.

If you are living honestly,

accept that it is hard to grasp

a sensation at the time it’s felt.

It's raw emotion…organic…real…

except…it can be hard to grasp

reality when you cannot label

that raw emotion; organic and real

though it may be, it somehow escapes

reality.  When you cannot label

feelings, then your thoughts, inspired

though they may be, somehow escape

before you can articulate your

feelings.  Then, your thoughts inspire

you to dig down deep inside,

before you can articulate your

feelings, and find out how it feels for

you to dig down deep inside

your soul and find your fears, desires,

feelings.  Find out how it feels

before the words appear; reveal
your soul, and find your fears, desires…

They may not be what you expect.

Before the words appear, reveal what

living in the moment means.

It may not be what you expect,

defined as such in retrospect.