04 February 2023

#4 - Nineteen Lines


You only need two interlocking rhymes

where symmetry and inspiration meet

to write a villanelle in nineteen lines


And any subject matter will be fine

to flesh the bones to craft a lyric suite

you only need two interlocking rhymes


Let artistry create a paradigm

(whose mantra is repeat, repeat, repeat)

to write a villanelle in nineteen lines


Where metre variation is no crime

against the form but complements the beat

you only need two interlocking rhymes


Five tercets and a quatrain that combine

to shape a whole, to make your thoughts complete,

to write a villanelle in nineteen lines


Remember this whilst fretting at lost time,

whilst staring at a blank, forbidding sheet

you only need two interlocking rhymes

to write a villanelle in nineteen lines



RJT




2 comments:

  1. I resisted googling 'villanelle' for 3 days. Thanks, Russel, for clearing it on day 4.

    ReplyDelete