A VILLANELLE

I tried to make a villanelle,
And found the task no piece of cake
Because I tried to write it well.

The pitfalls into which I fell !
Perhaps it was a sad mistake
I tried to make a villanelle.

My fevered brain could not compel
The pains I knew I had to take,
Because I tried to write it well.

No word, thought I, will I mis-spell,
Since it was for my lady's sake
I tried to make a villanelle.

Elusive as the pimpernel
Was every rhyme I tried to make,
Because I tried to write it well.

And all in vain ! Though, truth to tell,
I bless the day when, make or break,
I tried to make a villanelle,
Because I tried to write it well.

W. G. S.
June 1970

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