An original villanelle - a Poetry Friday post

[kellyrfineman]

Remember the other day when I said I was working on a new villanelle? (And then proceeded to explain what a villanelle is and how to write one, rather than, you know, focusing on my own work? Ahem

Comments

[kellyrfineman]

Thanks, Jenn - that's what I attracted me to the subject. The "worst" months of winter are January through March, but each day's a little longer in there, which is something to grab hold of on a dreary grey day (and we get our share here, as you know).

[lpsalas]

Oh, my fav line this time around is "Blue jays and sparrows, juncoes all alight." I think it's because I love the specifics and also the double meaning of alight. The whole poem is wonderful. Railing against the unreasonable teacher is pretty wonderful, too:>) But...PAT-i-nuh? Is that really how y'all say it? I've never heard it any other way than puh-TEEN-uh. When I saw the back and forth in the Google Doc, I thought, "What the...?" I love hearing about regional differences like this. Anyway, wonderful poem! xoxo, Laura

[kellyrfineman]

Yeah, I used to say "pa-TEE-na", but found out that's not exactly the proper pronunciation. When Tricia asked me about it, I even double-checked by asking the computer how to say the word, and the dictionaries with online pronunciation stuff all say PAT-in-uh.

It's sort of like the word "cupola", I guess, which I thought for years was a coop-O-la, after reading it in some book. And then I found out it was a COOP-uh-la. Who knew?

[ext_1476872]

I love that gathering strength. So hopeful, even in the cold and dark.

[kellyrfineman]

Thanks, Mary Lee!

[ext_2586620]

You seem to describe this moment perfectly. Winter isn't yet over. I'm sure there's snow ahead and yet I sense subtle changes that suggest spring is indeed coming. The hours of daylight are growing.

[kellyrfineman]

More daylight is really one of the only things about this time of year to grab hold of as a plus, some days, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by!