Open Link – Another Villanelle – Things Past and Present –
The Christmas season frequently brings up the ghosts of Christmases past. (Charles Dickens really hit on something there!) Here’s a villanelle I am posting for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night, which concerns that focus on the past.
As a preliminary note, I’d like to say that my mother’s mind keeps its objects in a very clear array. (Seriously, Mom, “disarray” sounds more poetic!) Also, the painting above, very poorly cropped in my photo, was made by one of my grandmothers.
My mother’s mind
My mother’s mind’s a disarray of lives
she tries to sort like bank statements or socks,
the memories of grandfathers, farms, old wives.
Land sold, cash lost–those tales as sharp as knives
that wound the dead–bringing anger that unlocks
my mother’s mind. A disarray of lives
whose weave she’s sure will warp without her tithes,
her tributes to hard work (also hard knocks),
the memories of grandfathers, farms, old wives.
She rallies around their wits–ambition drives
her past more than her future-as time’s tick rocks
my mother’s mind, a disarray of lives.
Can’t bring them back; no, that’s not what she tries.
Simply to make them last, pry from pine box
those memories of grandfathers, farms, old wives–
substantiating them–so she too thrives.
Throat fills with tears she seeks, with fears she blocks–
my mother’s mind, a disarray of lives,
memories of grandfathers, farms, old wives.
(If you are interested in villanelles, check out my comic “Villain-elle” with elephants. If you are interesting in checking out, then look up NOSE DIVE, my new comic novel, illustrated with Jonathan Segal. A lot of fun!)
Explore posts in the same categories: poetry, Uncategorized, villanelleTags: Karin Gustafson poetry, manicddaily, villanelle, villanelle about past memories, villanelle for grandfathers farms old wives
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ManicDDaily 
December 27, 2011 at 3:16 pm
This is a very skillful use of the form, Karin–great energy and some exquisite lines–“…She rallies around their wits–ambition drives/ her past more than her future…” for example, that counter with their sharp clarity the lull of the villanelle cadence. (You’re really making me want to write another one, btw) A fine sentiment here about time and place and identity, very appropriate for the changing of the year.
December 27, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Thanks, Joy. This was an old one–I did a number of villanelles a few years ago, with mixed success, but revisited this one thinking about the season. K.
December 27, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Wonderful villanelle!
December 27, 2011 at 3:51 pm
I love this poem…it’s beautifully written and flows easily. I look forward to reading more!!!
December 27, 2011 at 4:30 pm
nice…some great lines in there…maybe it is best you posted this after christmas so it did not hold up your gifts…smiles…i am sure she is forgiving…and it fits…really nicely rendered in form…i think we all try to hold onto those things in some ways…
December 27, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Oh dear, you are making me feel pretty guilty here! (I repeat, the disarray is poetic license. It truly is.) But it is also does not seem uncommon as one ages to go over the past and family history, etc., and to really focus. One doesn’t like to let all that angst and spirit just fade, I think.
December 27, 2011 at 4:54 pm
A poignant and beautiful poem, K.– radiant with your mastery of our craft! I love especially : Land sold, cash lost–those tales as sharp as knives
that wound the dead–bringing anger that unlocks
my mother’s mind.
Thank you for your kind words on my blog recently! xxxj http://parolavivace.blogspot.com
December 27, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Ha, thanks! Just looked at your new one, which I loved. K.
December 27, 2011 at 5:09 pm
absolutely beautiful!
December 27, 2011 at 5:24 pm
This flows beautifully! Gorgeous write.
December 27, 2011 at 5:46 pm
My mom likes to talk about the past, too… keep the legacy alive, I guess. Great villanelle.
December 27, 2011 at 6:08 pm
The villanelle is a favourite form with me, and I love your/your mother’s memories.
December 27, 2011 at 6:11 pm
i think the villanelle form was a smart choice for the topic – makes it even more intense through the repetition
December 27, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Karin, this poem you shared on dVerse makes me a little bit sad. Sometimes truly the past is all a person has. So very well expressed.
December 27, 2011 at 7:12 pm
I haven’t tried this form yet but you make it look effortless. I like the theme and images of the mother’s mind, a disarray of lives ~
Wishing you cheers and joy for the new year ~
December 27, 2011 at 7:20 pm
The dreaded villanelle! Beats me every blessed time I try! You, my friend, are a master! I humbly bow…and wish you a wonderful New Year!
December 27, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Really enjoyed the villanelle, I love the form and think you used it in a very nice manner . Delving into the past is both a time for remembering as well as a time for comparison. Really like how you used disarray here. Thanks
December 27, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Villanelles are fun… but hard. You succeeded here as I think the repetition is perfect for this subject. I also love when a family painting is kept in the family! I hope this hangs on your wall!
December 28, 2011 at 2:29 pm
this is lovely. I try to remember so many things by keeping journals and scrapbooks, like if I were to forget them then they never really happened. I especially love this line – Simply to make them last, pry from pine box.
great job with the form.
December 28, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Thanks, Sheila.