In January, I will explore the style of the Villanelle. This form of poetry has a lot of rules. I am normally a rule-breaker, so I take up the challenge of pirouetting across this restrictive dance floor with a degree of trepidation. Villanelle # 4 I will call Firing my Muse.
My first love is poetry. I played with rhythms as a child as a favorite toy, writing line after line and verse upon verse down in a notebook my mama gave me. The words became undecipherable squiggly lines dancing across the page. I remember sitting on my Uncle Harvey’s porch, making up poems only I could read. I learned to write real letters after I started school. That’s when my adventure with poetry started. I found myself in a dance with a fickle dancer. As soon as I got the steps right, the beat changed, and the singer sang a different tune. COVID-19 and retirement have given me the gift of time to explore, study, and capture the essence of poetry, making all its different moved on the page.
The rules I followed writing Villanelle # 4
The rules for creating a Villanelle are simple and straight forward. This style of poetry must have 19 lines and five stanzas. The closing stanza has four lines. Also, line 1 gets repeated in lines 6, 12, and 18. Thus, line 3 gets repeated in lines 9, 15, and 19. There are so many rules and so little time.
Firing my Muse
Sit down Word Daddy, I have some bad news
I’m afraid I need to let you go
You’re slacking on the job, A behavior I can’t excuse.
Don’t look at me with sad eyes and start singing the blues
Maybe you’ll get lucky and win the lotto
Sit down Word Daddy, I have some bad news.
It’s the unsightly tattoos, and you smell like booze,
Word on the street is you hang on skid row
You’re slacking on the job, A behavior I can’t excuse.
I’m aware a writer is required to pay her dues
But not one ounce of inspiration did you grow
Sit down, Word Daddy, I have some bad news.
I feel you have perpetrated a dishonest ruse
On this poor author who is feeling mighty low
You’re slacking on the job, A behavior I can’t excuse.
Wake up, you lazy bum this is no time to snooze.
Did I fail to mention you stink of tobacco?
Sit down, Word Daddy, I have some bad news
You’re slacking on the job, A behavior I can’t excuse.
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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