by Ashley Lister

 The villanelle is
a nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed
by a quatrain. There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with
the first and third line of the first tercet repeated alternately until the
last stanza, which includes both repeated lines.

This is a
complex form – but it’s worth persevering.

The
villanelle has been used for such memorable poems as Dylan Thomas’s ‘Do Not Go
Gentle into that Goodnight’, Theodore Roethke’s ‘The Waking’ and Sylvia Plath’s
‘Mad Girl’s Love Song.’ Writing a villanelle is not easy but, once you’ve
accomplished it, you’re in good company.

You may do me, and I will owe you one

Or until then I shall owe one to you

This lovers’ trade is really not a con

I guarantee it will be lots of fun

For me, at least (which might be nothing new)

You may do me, and I will owe you one

We shouldn’t start a sexu’l marathon

I know we’ve both got other things to do

This lovers’ trade is really not a con

But I’d like it if you could get me done

I don’t care if you suck or if we screw

You may do me, and I will owe you one

We’d celebrate with chilled Dom Perignon

I’ve brought a demi and champagne flutes: two

This lovers’ trade is really not a con

To get me off we’ll have to get it on

My need for satisfaction’s overdue

You may do me, and I will owe you one

This lovers’ trade is really not a con

There is a
formula:  A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b
A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1
A2. Here the letters (a and b) indicate the two rhyme sounds.
The use of upper case letters indicates a refrain. And the superscript numerals
indicate the different use of refrain one and refrain two.

Would
another example help to illustrate the form better?

You ask me if I’d like to be restrained	A1
You think our love could flourish with me bound	b
You claim you want to see me being chained	A2
This interest in restraint is unexplained	a
And I think our relationship is sound	b
You ask me if I’d like to be restrained	A1
You say I should be physically detained	a
Or tied up like some safe/secured hound	b
You claim you want to see me being chained	A2
I say, “Perhaps I might like being caned?”	a
Your eagerness does not get off the ground	b
You ask me if I’d like to be restrained	A1
You say my problem is that I’m untrained	a
You bring out rope next time we fool around	b
You claim you want to see me being chained	A2
We tried it way back once and I complained	a
But with a gag I didn’t make a sound	b
You ask me if I’d like to be restrained	A1
You claim you want to see me being chained	A2

The
villanelle is a lot of fun to work with. It is a complex form but I figure
those who’ve been reading these columns over the past year or so will be ready
for the adventure of a greater challenge.

As always, I
look forward to reading your villanelles in the comments box below.

Ash