The Villanelle Poem by Pete Crowther

The Villanelle’s a tricky poem to pen
Such rigid rules for rhymes you’ll seldom see,
The same old lines keep coming round again.

Lines one and three must always finish when
Their final rhymes each with the other do agree,
The Villanelle’s a tricky poem to pen.

Line three you’ll see once more before line ten
(It’s really nine but you will pardon me) .
The same old lines keep coming round again.

It’s back again at line fifteen, and then
At line nineteen—you’ve guessed—it is line three!
The Villanelle’s a tricky poem to pen.

Line one you’ll know, if you have acumen,
Is very much like three: their rules don’t disagree,
The same old lines keep coming round again.

And now, thank God, it’s nearly line nineteen
When from this poem’s fiendish rules I’m free.
The Villanelle’s a tricky poem to pen,
The same old lines keep coming round again.