It’s PoetryFriday!
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This week’s round up is hosted by our friend Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference who is sharing thought-provoking poetry gems.
Join us!
Thank you to the Poetry Sisters for this end-of-July pantoum challenge!
The brainscramble constantly on stage in my head reminds me that we can hold two (or more) things at once – like joy and anxiety; that we can be physically in one place (for instance, as I write this, I’m on a plane) and emotionally in another – maybe sitting beside a sister in need. The pantoum form feels like a perfect container to hold all the competing thoughts at once.
are you willing to assist in the event of an emergency?
buckle your seatbelts–– welcome aboard
heart pumps life and death through veins
locate two exits closest to your seat
pulse and tangle; tissue, sinew
heart pumps life and death through veins
should you need it, find a life vest
sinewed tissue, breast to legs
the miracle? a body holds hope and fear
should you need it, find a life vest
leave your belongings behind
the miracle? a body holds hope and fear
desperate prayer dared into ether
leave your body plans behind
locate two miracles closest to your seat
desperate prayer dared into ether
buckle your seatbelts–– welcome aboard
photos courtesy of pixaby
poem © 2026 Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Your pantoum was a wild ride, Patricia! Yes to holding multiple feelings at once! I love “locate two miracles closest to your seat.” And the title, so good! I’m going to save this to re-read. xo
Powerful pantoum Patricia, I also liked your change from exists to miracles. Hope all is okay, thanks.
Ooh! I cannot tell you how much I love taking on the droned air steward’s safety lecture and turning it into something more. I love the way this illustrates how two things can be true – that we are buckling in for this journey in solo seats, but we aren’t alone; that we are both fearfully and wonderfully complex systems and that we are also sometimes made of life and death… one of my best friends just returned from the hospital this week after almost three weeks in ICU after an abrupt autoimmune provoked kidney failure (which was thought to be pneumonia at first…) and this poem for me echoes the tension and fear of a body doing its best yet still failing, and friends standing by to help, but there being nothing we could do but sit in witness and pray. You’re in my thoughts today, if you’re doing the same.
Patricia, I took your ride alongside you; amazed by the way you formatted your pantoum, and wondered what comes next. “a body holds hope and fear” – so true!