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The
Villanelle: A Particular Challenge for the Poet
Dylan’s
fiercely morose "Go not Gentle Into That Deep
Night” is probably the best known Villanelle:
"Villanelle" is derived from the
Italian word that means “peasant" or further back in antiquity, Latin for
“a country estate.” Villanelles came to
English from
This
writer can’t read a villanelle without a flash of lusty peasants dancing around
some grandly pagan phallic symbol -- a ribbon bedecked may
pole or such -- all as a prelude to a magnificently carnal Bacchanal in
adjacent woodlands and hay rows. Heaven forfend, of
course! Yet fascinating or not, with their intricate interlocked rhyme schemes,
villanelles have been a source of nervous prostration, colicky bowels and domestic discord
for generations of poets. It seems appropriate that “Villain” shares the same
Latin root word as villanelle.
Care
to try it?
Doc Feelgood’s Patented Painless
Villanelle Construction Kit
free to Chickasaw Plum Readers who have
the time and inclination.
1. Pick a
topic.
2. Write
lots of lines or phrases about that topic, even really hokey, shitty ones are
ok, this being simply a point of departure. Recall that Villanelles are stanzaic but metrically free.
3. Pick a
telling line for the refrain. This may or may not be one’s title also. I like
color coding, as in ROYGBIV, at least at first to help me keep track of
things.
4. Type
in the line numbers and rhyme scheme. 19 Lines, i.e. 5 tercets
and a quatrain are what it takes. There are only two rhymes:
A1bA2, abA1, abA2,
abA1, abA2, abA1A2.
A1 &
A2 are two different refrains that rhyme. They occur in the
same place in all villanelles. See Dylan’s “Go Not Gentle…” for a classic
example. One may benefit from printing it out for a model. All the lower case
“a” lines are different but rhyme with refrains A1
& A2. All the lower case “b” lines are
different but rhyme.
I think
of this as sort of like building a kit airplane; once you get the fool thing
together, there’s still the question of will it fly? For me it works best to put a poem aside for
a few months then revise, often more than once. Academic calendars are such
though, that sometimes work must go up still raw, bloody and dripping.
Canticle
for a Lion Lost
--Mountain Lion spotted
in
TV
News Item,
A1 What deer are their for you in
b Footpad assassin of the forest
night
A2
Diamonds and furs give feline hearts no thrill
a For you the mountain redoubt’s dark is
right
b Flee, shadow creature from these burning
lights
A1
What deer are their for you in
a How succulent the pigeon on the window
sill
b What fell to bloodied claws and fearsome
bite?
A2
Diamonds and furs give feline hearts no thrill
a Your level gaze gives human hearts a
chill
b Deep pooled agate eyes of
deepest dye
A1
What deer are their for you in
a You must not tarry here until
b You’re entered in the cold-eyed
marksman’s sight,
A2 Diamonds and furs give feline hearts no
thrill.
a. Glitz and glamour cannot your wandering
soul fulfill
b While you may, make good your
flight
A1 What deer are their for you in
A2 Diamonds and furs give feline
hearts no thrill
***After
a quick spit bath***
Canticle
for a Lost Lion
Mountain Lion spotted in
TV
News Item,
What deer
are their for you in
Footpad assassin of the forest night?
Diamonds
and furs give feline hearts no thrill.
For you
the mountain redoubt’s dark is right:
Flee,
shadow creature from these burning lights
What deer
are their for you in
How
succulent the pigeon on the window sill;
What fell
to bloodied claws and fearsome bite?
Diamonds
and furs give feline hearts no thrill,
Your
level gaze gives human hearts a chill,
Deep
pooled agate eyes of deepest dye.
What deer
are their for you in
You must
not tarry here until
You’re
entered in the cold-eyed marksman’s sight.
Diamonds
and furs give feline hearts no thrill.
Glitz and
glamour cannot your wandering soul fulfill
While you
may, make good your flight.
What deer
are there for you in
Diamonds
and furs give feline hearts no thrill.
****************************************
Yin, the Receptive Earth
Gawaine Caldwater Ross
Over frosted grass, the
free mares gallop south,
The lake they approach is
deep and still.
The waters reflect
perspicuous skies.
Ingenuous, she drifts on
the water,
Alert and aware of joy on
the throne.
She sees the horses
running, and straightens herself,
She answers the awakening
of adoration.
Bluebirds flutter from
lilies to asters.
She trails her fingers in
the transparent water,
And hears the frogs
croaking along the shore.
With her friend at the
oars, she studies the wind,
The pine trees grow at the
touch of her smile.
The Son of Heaven will come
in the gloaming,
Yellow silk garments glinting
with garnet.
Her lips are the auspicious
color red,
She speaks in floral
sentences
Composing poems for her
beloved.
A tortoise perambulates the
shore of the lake
Marking his territory, and
looking for food.
Vixens shy at the sound of
the horses,
She stops the boat, and
listens well.
Yang (The Creative Heaven)
Gawaine Caldwater Ross
The clouds pass, and the
rain does its work,
The peony blossoms unfold
in the light.
Riding the dragon of time,
he perseveres
And cultivates the holy
ground.
Green maple seedpods spin
to the earth,
The Earth spins around her
pole,
The stars spin round the
galaxy.
Bittersweet twists about
the hornbeam,
Snow falls in the higher
elevations.
All is creative, nothing is
spent,
Kingfishers sport beneath
the plums.
Squirrels chew on walnut
shells,
Chase each other, and owls
note
The passing of their tiny
feet.
From far away he hears the
flute
And bells proclaim
The coming of the Yin,
He scrubs his skin and
combs his hair,
And practices his dance
steps.
All will be well when She
arrives,
The presents are ready,
incense smokes,
And the ancestors are very
pleased.
He takes a squash and makes
a lute,
He tunes the strings, and
plays for her
A song of invitation.
She responds with a soaring
heart,
And Love makes way for harmony.
The
Chickasaw
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