A Villanelle
If I should find myself relying on the line
I have no time, pushing you and everyone away
in self defense, I do myself a petty crime.
An act of theft, a small deceit for which time
has little tolerance accumulates throughout the day.
If I should find myself relying on the line
instead of seeing easily and clearly that I’m
closing doors to something more. By fearing play
in self defense, I do myself a petty crime.
I’ve stored too much inside this cluttered mind
so lacking space, my spirit yearns to stray.
If I should find myself relying on the line
I have no time, I could instead admit that I am
dreading some great boot to squash me into clay
in self defense, I do myself a petty crime
for greater opportunity surrounds me all the time
I wed the truth of this to everything I think and say;
if I should find myself relying on the line
in self defense, I do myself a petty crime.
~~~
© Elaine Stirling, 2015
Image of grandfather clock face comes from Widimedia Commons
Yeah! We gotta get on with ‘it’!
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We really do, Jane! 🙂
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Villanelles are much trickier to get right than they look aren’t they, Elaine, but you have preserved a natural syntax within the straightjacket of rules!
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Thank you, John! The villanelle is, indeed, a tight fit–so few rhymes and so much repetition. I tend to drift toward this form when the theme is slightly loony…and/or the moon is full. 😉
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