Numb figures (A Pantoum)

Number ten street lamp burns
over a black stretch of road
at the top of roller coaster hill
on first and Lexington Avenue.

Over a black stretch of road,
a silhouetted woman from above,
on first and Lexington Avenue,
searches the night for answers, or movement.

A silhouetted woman from above,
peers at black streets under numbered lamps,
searches the night for answers, or movement.
Sleepless nights spent watching number ten flicker.

Who peers at black streets under numbered lamps?
Life’s staccato gone flat.
Sleepless nights spent watching number ten flicker,
Sonora winds up and eighth street down.

Life’s staccato gone flat,
electronic hum of the light.
Sonora winds up and eighth street down,
number ten street lamp burns.

---

Pantoum is a form of poetry that I've found lends itself especially well to repetitive thoughts or anxiety as the lines are repeated in a pattern throughout the piece. Some people make them even more difficult to write by an A/B rhyming scheme at the end of each line. There are several different online sites that will instruct you on the pattern if you'd like to try!

Photo Credit: Sven Scheuermeier/unsplash