Poem: The Pantoum

A seed slowly fractures the soil as it ascends
We are descended on the ground before an angel appears
With no trumpets or ember shouting from the ground he whispers
Freedom was the only thing we understood for it was once engraved in our bones

We are descended on ground as the angel appears
With his lips he sings the emancipation
Freedom was the only thing we understood as it became engraved on our bones
With his voice he broke the shackles of our descendant

With his lips he sings the emancipation
And we dropped our hoe and weaved baskets
With his voice he broke the shackles of our descendant
And we start to rise to the kingdoms of heaven

We dropped our hoe and weaved baskets
With the trumpets and embers screaming, he whispers
And we start to rise to the kingdoms of heaven
Our seed slowly fractures the soil as it ascends

Editor’s note: To submit a poem, please send an email, with the poem as an attachment, to [email protected]. We are looking for previously unpublished works of no more than 30 lines by Texas poets who have not been published by the Observer in the last two years. Pay is $150 on publication. Poems will be chosen by guest editors.