It's Pantoum Time

As proclaimed by Pádraig Ó Tuama at Poetry Unbound

I so enjoy receiving Pádraig O’Tauama’s weekly newsletter from Poetry Unbound. Last week, he declared, It’s Pantoum Time. I love writing poems in this format. I immediately searched for artwork depicting a child (my olw for 2026) that might inspire a pantoum.

The website, I am a Child. Children in art history is a treasure trove of inspirational art to choose from. There, I recently discovered artist and illustrator Nancy Lane, a working artist who is located in Bristol, NY, not too far from where I grew up.

This is one of Nancy’s works titled tiesto:

Fighting Evil with My Crayons

Today is a by-myself-happy day
I’m drawing pictures in red and green.
Yesterday I played with Ty and Jonah in the woods--
I was the purple in between the trees.

I’m drawing pictures in red and green
When I was little, I didn’t know the Ninja Turtles
I was purple in between the trees.
I couldn’t know turtles were superheroes

When I was little, I didn’t know the Ninja Turtles.
And anyway, Donatello is my favorite.
I couldn’t know turtles were superheroes.
I pretend to fight evil with my crayons.

I am Donatello,
drawing Ty and Jonah in the woods
I fight evil with my crayons.
Today is a by-myself-happy day

Linda Mitchell 5/29/26

Thank you, Mary Lee, at Another Year of Reading for hosting this last week (yikes) of May’s weekend round-up. I’m hopping over there right now for a large helping of poems.