Ponyville & Other Poems

by AugieDog

11 - Ain't No Secret (villanelle)

Expect it all, I always say,
And ain't been disappointed yet.
I will until my dying day

Believe there's more that's hid away
Than anypony's ever bet.
Expect it all, I always say.

I've stomped along from fray to fray
And them few things as I regret,
I will until my dying day.

We flow like rivers. Things don't stay
No matter how we whine and fret.
Expect it all, I always say.

From love and trouble, life don't stray,
So why get grouchy and upset?
I will until my dying day

Unleash myself in work or play
And take what happens, wealth or debt.
Expect it all, I always say.
I will until my dying day.

Author's Note:

The villanelle, so short and with all those repeated lines in it, just had Granny Smith's name all over it.

Comments

[AugieDog]

With all those repeated lines:

The villanelle just seems made for Granny Smith...

Mike

[Tousle-Headed Poet]

Lovely! The villanelle has always been my favorite verse form, and you've created a splendid example! I knew in the first stanza whose voice this was.

[AugieDog]

3761763

Thanks!

For all that I've read villanelles before, I'd never tried to write one till I started this project. And it just seemed a natural form for Granny Smith...

Mike

[Lurks-no-More]

Huh! Yes, it's Granny Smith all right, even though my realization was slow in coming. In hindsight, it seems a lot more obvious. Expect it all, I guess!

[TheJediMasterEd]

Incredible. Just incredible. Great stuff.

Villanelles are hard. I wrote one once long ago:

Remember all the fun we had
When we had neither rank nor fame?
Strange how the memory's so sad.

When every morning found us glad
To rise and play this wondrous game,
Remember all the fun we had?

We laughed at each new courtly fad
And vowed that we'd remain the same--
Strange how the memory's so sad.

But seasons changed for lass and lad
When Fortune smiled, that fickle dame;
Remember all the fun we had?

In stately cloaks our hearts were clad;
"Important persons" we became.
Strange how the memory's so sad.

And though our lot is far from bad
Now that we've each become a Name,
Remember all the fun we had?
Strange how the memory's so sad.

--Ed.

[AugieDog]

3810838

Again, it was character who directed me to the type of poem.

3812075

There's something about all those repeated lines in such a short space that always makes me associate the villanelle with memory. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one!

Mike