1 - a1 Rejoice in the light of the sun.
2 - b Take no shelter from its hot rays,
3 - a2 For one day it will shrivel and be done.
4 - a Bask in the burning glory, run!
5 - b But do not set your flesh ablaze,
6 - a1 Rejoice in the light of the sun.
7 - a The sunbeams make a man weigh a ton,
8 - b but enjoy your squishy brain, your daze,
9 - a2 For one day it will shrivel and be done.
10 - a Yes, the light is bright, but don't shun!
11 - b Though it burns, be blinded with amaze,
12 - a1 Rejoice in the light of the sun.
13 - a With heaven you will become one
14 - b if you hastily accept this sunny haze
15 - a2 For one day it will shrivel and be done.
16 - a Your flesh is as an illegitimate son.
15 - b Count your days, or else, no delays
18 - a1 Rejoice in the light of the sun.
19 - a2 For one day it will shrivel and be done.
Inspiration:
This form is called a villanelle and it's my first time trying it! Sylvia Plath mentioned writing a villanelle in the Bell Jar, so I was curious about what it was. Then I found this great example—Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle into that good night"—that introduced the form to me.
Basically, to my understanding, a villanelle is a 19-line-long structured poem. It has two repeating refrains (a1 and a2) whose last words must rhyme with each other. It has five stanzas with three lines each (which is called a tercet), plus a quatrain (a stanza with four lines). The rhyme scheme is pointed out with a, a1, a2, and b. The last word in all of the a lines must rhyme with each other, and the last word in the B lines must rhyme with each other also. In the tercets, the rhyme scheme goes a, b, a1, then the second stanza goes a, b, a2, and so on, ending with a2. In the quatrain, the rhyme scheme is: a, b, a1, a2.
This is a tricky concept since it's so strict. I didn't even mention that a good villanelle is supposed to, with each new line, develop the refrains and either change or deepen their meaning!
