Thread: Apocalyptic Villanelles

Villanelle

A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme:
aba aba aba aba aba abaa.

The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).

This first one is not a true villanelle- I didn’t rhyme the second line-aba aba-

Hacked

elephants are running loose in the parking lot
circus clowns scare the hell out of old crones and black cats
mother goose and her geese lay their eggs in a golden pot

the juggler juggles; while the sniper shoots and marks his shot
barkers freaks and acrobats get ready to fleece the flock
elephants are running loose in the parking lot

the necromancer freezes the body before it starts to smell and rot
monks and assassins hunt for the monkey king and his singing apes
mother goose and her geese lay their eggs in a golden pot

shallow graves and leaky coffins do not make good cemetery plots
in a fit of rage Loki, the dancing lion has eaten Odin, the lion tamer
elephants are running loose in the parking lot

angels play in clouds while demons piss in the mud, dirty, thirsty and hot
jack and jill ran down the hill with the itsy bitsy spider right behind them
mother goose and her geese lay their eggs in a golden pot

virtual reality is a cooked up virus created by hackers and their computer bots
if you can’t ask alice then who can you ask; surely not the caterpillar?
elephants are running loose in the parking lot
mother goose and her geese lay their eggs in a golden pot










This one is a correct example-

Monsters and Villains


the devil dances a mean jig and plays a nasty fiddle
she has horns, fangs, delicate wings and sings of many things
big bad Tommy Twiddle piddles and diddles his way to the middle

horned gods and fancy toads dazzles the sinners in sin filled riddles
she hip hops and trots to a beggars tune and plucks at the strings of kings
the devil dances a mean jig and plays a nasty fiddle

Pauley Prattle wiggles wobbles and whittles away his soul till its brittle
her beauty stings at private things and brings wet spots and sex crazed flings
big bad Tommy Twiddle piddles and diddles his way to the middle

the beast regurgitates the filth of the world and licks up humanity’s spittle
she spins her webs in your heads, hearts and body parts; tasty little seedlings
the devil dances a mean jig and plays a nasty fiddle

it’ll be the end times of everything when the beast consumes all things big and little
she orders the beast and her fledglings to go on diets; the devil loves her playthings
big bad Tommy Twiddle piddles and diddles his way to the middle

seven deadly sins are vomit and bile from weasels that wiggle wobble and piddle
the beast is the devils child spinning and clinging to its mommies strings
the devil dances a mean jig and plays a nasty fiddle
big bad Tommy Twiddle piddles and diddles his way to the middle



Make sure you choose your rhymes carefully- They should be true rhymes- my version is not all true rhymes but they're close enough- for you purists – sorry….

I like these lines, they are rich, with interesting and diverse details - I didn't know much about villanelles, thanks for the primer

---todd

I like these, good, and colourful villanelles but the punctuation needs looking at and the rhythm of the none repeated lines seems all over the place, they look in parts very crowded - So, could do better, but not much!