A1-b-A2 / a-b-A1 / a-b-A2 / a-b-A1 / a-b-A2 / a-b-A1-A2 which looks simple enough.
I can tell you to make your 'b' an easy to rhyme ending 'such as the 'ay' ending chosen by Dylan Thomas in his remarkable Villanelle, "Do not go Gentle into that Good Night."
I can post that poem for you here;
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas Unfortunately, what I can't do is to teach you how to write a Villanelle with that much power. The power of a poem belongs to the writer. As with any other act of creation, it begins with an idea, requires mood, dedication and vocabulary to express the required emotions. I have tried on a number of occasions to write a Villanelle. The rhyming scheme is technical and doesn't easily lend itself to creativity except when the mood is right. I have failed in the past to write in this form with any impact. This week I have been making preparations for my Mum's funeral and decided to honor her long and mostly happy life with a poem, to read during the church service. While caring for her at home towards the end of her life, I had little time and the poems that I managed to cobble together were in the moment and as a result, would be quite traumatising for a congregation assembled to see delivered safely to her maker. The poem I have dedicated to her is a Villanelle and I hope that it successfully reflects the sadness that we, her family, feel her loss and my own concerns for our own future.
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