At first the lockdown promised me

Some respite from my working life;

More time to write and watch TV,

Or clean just like a ‘50s wife.

 

Some respite from my working life;

Homemade cheese scones, banana bread,

Or clean just like a ‘50s wife,

The hidden realm beneath the bed.

 

Homemade cheese scones, banana bread

Did satisfy me for a while.

The hidden realm beneath the bed

Gave up its secrets, made me smile.

 

Did satisfy me for a while

Odd earrings, socks, a five-pound note

Gave up its secrets, made me smile

A leaflet urging me to vote.

 

Odd earrings, socks, a five-pound note.

Some Christmas cards from years gone by

A leaflet urging me to vote

I didn’t. Can’t remember why.

 

Some Christmas cards from years gone by.

We said we’d always keep in touch.

I didn’t. Can’t remember why.

Those friends who used to mean so much.

 

We said we’d always keep in touch

No matter how our paths diverged

Those friends who used to mean so much

It’s not too late to keep my word.

 

No matter how our paths diverged

I swore that I would not forget

It’s not too late to keep my word.

Thank goodness for the Internet.

 

I swore that I would not forget

And now I have my own PC.

Thank goodness for the Internet!

In half an hour I found all three.

 

And now I have my own PC

Through Skype or Zoom we chat each night

In half an hour I found all three

Post lockdown, we shall reunite. 

 

NB In a pantoum, the second and fourth lines of each verse become the first and third lines of the next.

This pantoum was first published in the Ripon Poetry Festival 2021 anthology 'The Other Side of the Looking Glass'.