Impossibly beautiful – Villanelle

Impossibly beautiful promise of the future,

I anxiously held onto you so tight

My heart rejoiced you with aching rapture.

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You taught me to love against reason, to nurture

I felt you close, though you were far from my sight

Impossibly beautiful promise of the future.

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A willing student was I, and you, my adorable teacher

I changed my ways, tried to do everything right

My heart rejoiced you with aching rapture.

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Alarm and awe mingled into an unstable mixture,

The moments of darkness took over the light

Impossibly beautiful promise of the future.

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Sand castles of hope slowly began to fracture

We were both battling an unbeatable knight

My heart rejoiced you with aching rapture.

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The time arrived for me to give you back to nature,

I know the creator will protect your soul, so bright.

Impossibly beautiful promise of the future,

My heart rejoiced you with aching rapture.

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Dear Readers,

Many of you maybe familiar with the Villanelle form of poetry. It has French origins dating back to 1606. It is well-known in poetry circles as a challenging style.

It is made up of 19 lines of no fixed syllable form. The first 5 verses are three lines each (tercets) and the last verse is four lines each (quatrain)

The interesting part of a villanelle is that you need to visualise the flow of the entire poem as well as end of the poem right at the very beginning. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated throughout the poem (alternately as the last line of each stanza). They are also the last two lines of the whole poem.

Another challenge this form represents is the strict rhyme scheme of aba which is followed in all the stanzas. It is better if you choose simple and common rhymes to start with, so that it is easier to develop the poem as you go along.

I have once attempted a villanelle before, but only in part. You can read it here

Thank you for reading.. this wasn’t an easy one to write and not in the least because of the style of poetry.