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Sunday, April 25, 2010

NaPoWriMo #25: A Sort of Villanelle

(All NaPoWriMo poems have now been removed for possible editing and submissions. Contact me if you would like to read them.)

The prompt was to take a phrase from the Phrase Finder website and use it to spark a poem. The quote I used is in italics at the head of the poem. This comes apparently from Shakespeare's Henry VIII and is alluded to on Keats's tombstone (which in turn is alluded to by me). Inspired by Joseph, I decided to attempt a villanelle, though I am one stanza short, and I was pretty free with the repeated lines, altering them so much that the repetition consists mostly of the final word.

Nevertheless, I find trying to write in form absorbing - a bit like crossword puzzles or sudoku - even if I'm not often satisfied with the results.

3 comments:

Kay Cooke said...

This works beautifully in my opinion. I have yet to try to write one of these ... maybe one day - meanwhile, I can enjoy the brilliant results of others! I love the way you have played with the whole idea and the rhyming is satisfying to read too - and you didn't overdo it which makes for pleasurable reading.

viv said...

This is an interesting variation on the (sometimes boring) standard villanelle. I like your long first lines. So often, if sticking to the exact form, there doesn't seem enough room to say anything meaningful. I like yours better!

one more believer said...

there's a lot to be sed to form poetry but oh so much more is had when freedom steps in... to say this is poetic is somehow shy and saying less... it is beautiful conduit connect