Until I heard myself Laughing - Pantoum

Today, a young lady asked me,
"Don't you have any obsessions?"
and I, I could just stare at my tea,
while thinking about her question.

"Don't you have any obsessions?"
I kept thinking. . . Poetry,
while thinking about her question,
Poetry, that's it! My idolatry!

I kept thinking. . . Poetry.
She said, anything other than that?
Poetry, that's it! My idolatry!
But something in my heart fell flat.

She said, anything other than that?
I replied, "not that I know of. . ."
But something in my heart fell flat.
There must be something else that I love.

I replied, "not that I know of. . ."
But how can I not know?
There must be something else that I love.
At least a young beau?

But how can I not know?
I became preoccupied with that thought.
At least a young beau?
I uttered with a dried throat.

I became preoccupied with that thought,
until I heard myself laughing aloud
I uttered with a dried throat
I am obsessed with this thought. So absurd.

Until I heard myself laughing aloud
It hit me, the answer to her question.
"I am obsessed with this thought." So absurd.
"Don't you have any obsessions?"

It hit me, the answer to her question.
and I, I could just stare at my tea,
"Don't you have any obsessions?"
Today, a young lady asked me.

Written by: L.L.

Dec 21, 2014 1:30 am

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Pantoum

The pantoum consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD. The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA.

The design is simple:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4

Line 5 (repeat of line 2)
Line 6
Line 7 (repeat of line 4)
Line 8

Continue with as many stanzas as you wish, but the ending stanzathen repeats the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza (as its first and third lines), and also repeats the third line of the first stanza, as its second line, and the first line of the first stanza as its fourth. So the first line of the poem is also the last.

Last stanza:

Line 2 of previous stanza
Line 3 of first stanza
Line 4 of previous stanza
Line 1 of first stanza

The above instructions are copied from this site:
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/pantoum.html