So, my pals and I started a year-long poetry project last month.
We kicked the whole thing off with triolets. They were hard.
And this month we said, "Villanelles!"
Here's what They Might Be Giants has to say about villanelles.
(To paraphrase, don't hate the villian, hate the villanelle.)
But really, they're not that bad.
They're actually kind of fun little puzzles.
Mine was inspired by this crazy story I read about King Tut's burial mask.
(To paraphrase, his beard broke off and they glued it back on with this really cheesy looking epoxy!)
But it also ended up being about the darkness — or at least surprises — hidden underneath some people's facades.
So, here goes….
The Boy King’s Beard
Upon a man, what’s regal as a beard?
Propriety and promise all in one.
We trust that things are just as they appear.
But what is underneath? It’s what we’ve feared –
the yellowed sheen of stories badly spun.
Upon a man, what’s regal as a beard?
Not much, until that gilded cloak’s been sheared
and now we’re left with everything he’s done.
We trusted things were as they’d once appeared.
And not just trusted – honored and revered.
The gold of all has chipped away to none.
Upon a man, what’s regal as a beard?
The truth unmasked, the cover disappeared!
No pharaoh here, a simple mother’s son.
We trusted things to be as they appeared —
a boy, a beard, these ancient myths we’ve reared,
from storied tombs that lie to everyone.
Upon a man, what’s regal as a beard?
The trust that what is true will reappear.
You like villanelles? Here are the amazing poems my poetry sisters crafted:
Sara
Tanita
Andi
Tricia
Kelly
Laura
And Poetry Friday today is at Elizabeth Steinglass' Blog.
Happy day, everyone…..