Category Archives: villanelle
The false friend
Another silkie (well, one glimpsed a couple of weeks ago) and another villanelle. Silkies don’t usually fare well upon the land and this one is, I’m afraid, no exception. The false friend I took his skin and put it on, … Continue reading
As I am, so shall you be (villanelle)
I know this blog has wandered a long way from folk songs and from fantasy. I’m still listening to the former and blocked on the latter. Now, and for the foreseeable future, I’ll be posting the odd (very odd?) poem here, when I … Continue reading
Writer, eclipsed.
I started this villanelle ages back – so long back I can’t quite recall when, except that it was the last time there was a partial lunar eclipse visible in this part of the world. That’s pretty clear from the … Continue reading
Villanelle V: The villa of Livia
I was in Rome last week. Of all the sights and sites I saw the most impressive were wall paintings from a villa owned by Livia*, the wife of Augustus. They’re now in the National Roman Museum – Palazzo Massimo … Continue reading
Variations on a theme
This evening, as an exercise, I tried to write essentially the same poem in three different forms: One Unweave the rainbow Spread a bright skein of fancy Across a white page Two The page is white, The pen at hand: Let … Continue reading
Villanelle IV: The only rose
I set out this evening to write a poem using a prompt from an old favourite (Runrig’s The Only Rose; there’s a story behind why it’s an old favourite but I’m not minded to tell it now). Anyway, the poem went … Continue reading
Villanelle III: A rose, a king, an apple tree
I’m supposed to be editing a novel but I’m easily distracted from this task. This evening I started playing around with one of the songs from After the Ruin and ended up turning it into a villanelle. Why? Well, why not? Even though it’s of no … Continue reading
Folksong and Fantasy 