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Villanelle Poetry – Country Drive
While enjoying a drive in the country air
a very fast car past us and went ahead
his passion for fast cars gave us a scare
while taking the corner too fast, I swear
he braked, car rolled, ended up brain dead
while enjoying a drive in the country air
His car was built for comfort, beware
he needed to learn how to drive, I said
his passion for fast cars gave us a scare
fast driving is not important, take care
all his dreams ended on his death-bed
while enjoying a drive in the country air
that is all there is to say, except a prayer
so many tears for all his loved one to shed
his passion for fast cars give us a scare
now our memories of that drive in fresh air
always a memory living forever in our head
while enjoying a drive in the country air
his passion for fast cars gave us a scare.
Copyright © 2019 Elsie Hagley
Villanelle Poetry:
The highly structured villanelle is a nineteen-line poem with two repeating rhymes and two refrains. The form is made up of five tercets followed by a quatrain.
The rhyme scheme is AbA’ abA’ abA’ abA’ abA’ abAA’, so there are only two rhymes that end all the lines.
In addition, the first line and third line, the refrains, are repeated four times each –
the first line appears at the end of stanzas 2 and 4 and as the second-to-last line in stanza 6.
The poem’s third line appears again at the end of stanzas 3, 5, and 6.