"Together forever," he promised.
She knew it was, in fact, temporary
though he meant it at the time
(everyone means it at the time).
She knew. It was, in fact, temporary.
A quick kiss. A knowing glance.
Everyone means it at the time.
This time would be different.
A quick kiss...a knowing glance
... a whisper only they shared...
This! Time would be different.
As they sat side by side,
a whisper only, they shared.
Their confidence seeping
as they sat side by side.
"It is nothing," escaped his lips.
Their confidence seeping
(though he meant it at the time).
"It is nothing," escaped his lips
together forever. He promised.
~sfm 3.22.16
This is my first ever attempt at a pantoum, characterized by repeating lines and punctuation placement play.
Though interpretation is ever at the reader's discretion, this poem was constructed to honor the love story of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sofie, Duchess of Hohenberg, whose deaths on their 14th wedding anniversary are famed with stimulating the First World War. Though their relationship was controversial due to their different statuses in society, they loved nonetheless, dying slumped next to each other following a parade--the Archduke assuring his duchess until the end that his wound was "nothing" and encouraging her to stay alive for their children.
