I chant that phrase, have followed its advice a couple times, but then follow a different line of thinking. Maybe I intentionally aim for the spontaneous and imprecise?
Neatly turned villanelle, Sherman. I still encounter that challenging fixed form here & there, and with slight variations, like this one, they tend to work best. How many EXCESS copies of my book, "The Villanelle: The Evolution of a Poetic Form," do I have on hand? 1987--its 40th anniversary will happen next year. Ya can't give 'em away!
The first 30 years were the hardest! Of course, aging bodies don't make life easier, but every year seems to bring us a new appreciation for each other. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your years together!
No cutting involved it was lust just lust and I am Glad I could leave easily that mess I made in a nest of foolishness.
There are Nests of Foolishness in every tree!
You got that right. I’ll shut up now, Cohen is singing so long Marianne in my brain as I type this.
How could I have lived this long and not know that saying.? Just asking myself ?
I reversed it for the sake of the rhyme. It is “measure twice, cut once.”
Failure to follow directions is my mo
Hahahaha
“sweet untamed hurt”
Thanks!
This was excellent. It truly hit the spot for me today.
Thank you, Kate.
No kidding!
!!!!
I truly love when you write villanelles because the subject matters is often unique. This one didn’t disappoint. 🥰
Thank you, Renée!
Cut now measure later
Hahahahahaha
Almost a "troubadour" poem, Sherman! Slant rhymes across the stanzas. Are you getting ready to write a 'Sestina'?
The title poem. The Business of Fancydancing, of my first book (which was published in 1992) is a villanelle. I’ve been writing them for a long time!
Thank you! I love your poetry.
Thank you, Mimi.
love that last line. perfect!
Thanks, Philip. I enjoyed that I turned the repeated word, “precise,” into “imprecise,” a change that is, in itself, imprecise.
That’s gotta be fun to put that down, though. So good. Keep going!!!
Thanks!
I chant that phrase, have followed its advice a couple times, but then follow a different line of thinking. Maybe I intentionally aim for the spontaneous and imprecise?
Maybe you do, Lou!
Just had a spontaneous swim with about 300 seals
"One cannot be precise and still be true." ~ Marc Chagall
I didn’t know that quote! It’s perfect!
Neatly turned villanelle, Sherman. I still encounter that challenging fixed form here & there, and with slight variations, like this one, they tend to work best. How many EXCESS copies of my book, "The Villanelle: The Evolution of a Poetic Form," do I have on hand? 1987--its 40th anniversary will happen next year. Ya can't give 'em away!
Yes, the great villanelles are funereral. I try to subvert that.
Lovely poem, lovely mix of thought and technique. And emotion.
Thank you, Karen.
Rustic wisdom; wears well; not well observed. -- Lovely poem about lust and love -- Lovely memory of when they combine -- We've been married 65 years!
Congratulations! My wife and I are 33 years behind you!
The first 30 years were the hardest! Of course, aging bodies don't make life easier, but every year seems to bring us a new appreciation for each other. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your years together!