“Short” Villanelle
Short
I’m told that feelings hold a set place in the brain
like a house upon a lot, a grave a plot,
but mine short like broken circuits caught in rain,
guttering flashes pulling to the sane,
but not quite magnetized to well-formed thought.
I’m told that feelings hold a set space in the brain,
a location to be mapped just like a vein,
demarked as ‘happy,’ ‘fearful,’ ‘sad’—x marks the spot,
but mine short like broken circuits caught in rain,
misplacing light and darkness, wax and wane,
mistaking good for ill, full well for naught.
I’m told that feelings hold a set space in the brain,
then mine must be a jumbled tangled mane
where what should beam straight cross cramps into knot
and shorts like broken circuits caught in rain,
splintering all that’s whole, all would-be gain,
forcing what surely is into what is not;
I’m told that feelings hold a set space in the brain
but mine short like broken circuits caught in rain.
********************************************
Sorry – a very stressful time of late, combining with a day of storms, which brings me to post the above slightly depressed villanelle for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night, hosted by the extremely generous poet, Claudia Schoenfeld. I urge you to check out the site.
Explore posts in the same categories: poetry, Uncategorized, villanelle
Tags: "Short" Villanelle, manicddaily, short-circuiting feelings, stressed villanelle, villanelle about internal confusion
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ManicDDaily 
May 29, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Ah Manic.D.Daily…… You’ve done it again…. Absolutely Brilliant….. This to me reads a lot like Autism….. Loved it. Thank you = )
May 30, 2012 at 7:16 am
Thanks so much. k.
May 29, 2012 at 11:22 pm
always good to see a villanelle every once and a while around blogworld…my fav of the form forms…and oh i hear you with the feelings…mine always seem to ignore my brain generally..always trying to tell them to be reasonable..but…
May 30, 2012 at 5:12 am
we got the storms here as well and knocked out my net, so sorry i am just getting here…sorry for all the stress as well…where what should beam straight cross cramps into knot
and shorts like broken circuits caught in rain,…nice….its a long 18 inches from the brain to the heart you know…and along that way there can def be those shorts…
May 30, 2012 at 7:19 am
Oh I totally can relate to this–my feelings have been shorting out and electrocuting me for years–I thought it was normal! A very fine-tuned, hummingly good villanelle, k–and I think writing like this, in measured, thought-requiring discipline, is one of the best ways to work through stuff–and actually productive as it gives enjoyment to others(at least to me.) Storms all night here too–still lightning and making a fuss out there.
May 30, 2012 at 7:20 am
Yes, I have my mom with me still and am trying to work on my job from upstate NY. We had quite a bit of excitement with first hail then tornado watch! Very pretty though, and a relief from intense heat. I don’t mind heat but she is used to A/C. k.
May 30, 2012 at 8:10 am
i like this – the repetition is really really nice – we experience the short circuit with you as we read. cool!
May 30, 2012 at 11:09 am
A good write, Karin. I hope the stress gets better soon.
May 30, 2012 at 11:15 am
I watched Charlie Rose last night. They were talking about these kinds of things, about mapping the brain. How clever of you to have managed these dense thoughts into a villanelle. Although it may seem an odd subject for a villanelle, I think it’s quite perfect. It’s exactly what current does. It keeps repeating, trying to jump the blockage. The repetitions work very well and make the piece more compelling for it.
May 30, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Thanks so much, Gay. k.
May 30, 2012 at 2:11 pm
“I’m told that feelings hold a set space in the brain
but mine short like broken circuits caught in rain.” …So true…lol….I much enjoyed your villanelle….very compelling 🙂
May 30, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Thanks, Louise. k.
May 30, 2012 at 5:50 pm
I can really relate to this. It feels like it’s all about, sparking and buzzing here and there. The confusion, mixing up good and bad and misunderstanding and confusing things and things said.
Nice work, that you fit it so well in this form.
May 30, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Great repetition and rhyme here.
then mine must be a jumbled tangled mane
where what should beam straight cross cramps into knot
and shorts like broken circuits caught in rain, – and I just love that.
May 31, 2012 at 1:01 pm
This also reminds me of Electro-convulsive Therapy a bit, was this an allusion to it?
I am a fan of Villanelle and Sestina, and I love how you used the former in this context.
Peace & Love,
~Tinkerbelle
May 31, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Thanks, Tinkerbelle. I did not have electro=convulsive therapy in mind, but that’s an interesting connection, for sure. I went through a phase where I loved villanelles and did many of them – a lot posted on my blog if you look at that category. Also, some sestinas–I also love. Here’s the one I did that I thought was most successful, if you are interested: https://manicddaily.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/sestina-pink-dverse-poets-pub-entry-and-little-how-to/
May 31, 2012 at 4:03 pm
I love that, I will definitely check those out, thanks.
I am frequently inspired by them. Like with the poem “Modern Reptiles”: http://litwist.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/modern-reptiles/ which is neither sestina nor villanelle, but I have fun with the concept. I wouldn’t be surprised if I shell some out in the next few days after reading more of them, but I can’t help my loyalty to free verse!
May 31, 2012 at 11:16 am
that’s an important point. i think a lot of us do this in relationships, there’s something we like about someone, we pretend there’s more than just that, and then it gets all dysfunctional
spaceship tanka
May 31, 2012 at 6:10 pm
WOW. I’ve always shied away from the Villanelle, feeling that I’ll never write one as great as the examples I’ve read. This sure doesn’t help…and I mean that in a good way. I feel like you looked into my brain and captured my struggles. I have severe asthma and some of the exceedingly nasty drugs scrambled my brain so badly I couldn’t think or sort anything out or remember anything. So I love the elephant reference. You’re quite talented, and it’s nice to meet you.
http://kmdlifeisgood.blogspot.com/
P.S Thanks for your visit and kind comment.
June 1, 2012 at 8:50 am
I feel like this when I’m really really tired (night shifts do this sometimes) – mind won’t work, make the connections..
Superbly penned k.
Anna :o]