Villanelle # 19

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 # 19 I will call Essential Worker.

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 # 19

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.

Essential Worker

This morning I waited on an arrogant jerk

but I gave him service with a smile

Such is life when you do essential work

I never aspired to be a grocery store clerk

I only thought I would do it a little while

This morning I waited on a arrogant jerk

I do my due diligence and never shirk

When you use harsh words and act hostile

 Such is life when you do essential work

Behind your back after you leave I laugh and smirk

I wrote your name and number down in a secret file

This morning I waited on an arrogant jerk

The smile on my face is my little quirk

It is an imposter full of bitterness and guile

 Such is life when you do essential work

I watched you in the pandemic go berserk

Searching for toilet paper up and down the aisle

This morning I waited on an arrogant jerk

Such is life when you do essential work

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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