Phantom Metaphor In Pantoum

Phantom Metaphor In Pantoum

​At edge of shore beneath fierce sun,
The sea blue-green with breezy heat,
I’d stand nail-straight when I was young:
Tides roiled sand beneath my feet.
 
The sea blue-green with breezy heat,
The undertow sucked out the land;
Tides roiled sand beneath my feet;
Tides sucked out broken shell and sand.
 
The undertow sucked out the land;
Great tongues of water bound for sea;
Tides sucked out broken shell and sand;
But what they wanted most was me.
 
Great tongues of water bound for sea
Had marked me down for doom and death;
For what they wanted most was me;
But I was young and kept my breath.
 
Tides marked me down for doom and death;
They battered feet, they yanked at knees;
But I was young and kept my breath--
This trope for death meant naught to me.
 
Tides battered feet, they yanked at knees;
I’d stand nail-straight when I was young;
This trope for death meant naught to me
At edge of shore beneath the sun.