Pantoum 1

Desert Dawning
Anne Johnson

The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.                
A jackrabbit scurries through the brush                    
while far above a raven cries.                                   
Dawn breaks from a frozen hush.                             

A jackrabbit scurries through the brush                    
bent on finding food to eat.                                       
Dawn breaks from a frozen hush,
the cold chill of the night retreats.

Bent on finding food to eat,
a roadrunner darts across the sand.
The cold chill of the night retreats
as fiery warmth fills the land.

A roadrunner darts across the sand
in the shadow of a towering saguaro.
As fiery warmth fills the land
the cactus wren peers at a beetle below.

In the shadow of a towering saguaro
a bevy of quail march by in a line.
The cactus wren peers at a beetle below.
On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.

A bevy of quail march by in a line
while far above a raven cries.
On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.
The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.


This poem shows a great example of the distinct rhyme and repetition scheme of a pantoum. Their stanzas are made up of four lines, with an ABAB rhyme scheme:
Line 1: A
Line 2: B
Line 3: A
Line 4: B

Their second stanza, however, starts repeating lines from the previous stanza:
Line 5: B (same as line 2)
Line 6: A
Line 7: B (same as line 4)
Line 8: A

This process continues throughout the poem.