I can't see that your example counts for any less. It makes good sense to me. We're all after poems, not just fill-in-the-blanks examples of a given form, and I'm not sure it matters a damn how we get there.

Dave

There are many fine examples (Thomas' 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' is my favourite) but I find that the form lends itself especially well to humorous verse. It's something about the rhythm of those refrains and the limitation of two rhymes. The rondeau redouble offers similar challenges but is even more fiendish. The feeling of achievement you get from actually finishing a poem in any of these super-restrictive forms (even a terrible one) is quite something, though. I'd recommend it just for that.

Why bother with them? Fun, in short.

Good sestinas you could count on the fingers of no hands. Couldn't you?

Rob,

Try this sestina: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...ne/poem/245872

That made me laugh out loud, Gregory.

...and... it's a new record. A 13 year dredge! Wow. That's impressive.

We must have had at least a dozen similar discussions over the past thirteen years, and about 1500 villanelles (many of them by me, some funny, some intentionally funny), but there appears to be one unbreakable rule - you must mention Dylan Thomas. I think I'll wait a year or so, until it's ripe again, and try to discuss villanelles without mentioning Thomas - betcha it comes up within three replies. But it was good to see Alicia's sestina, rather than Yolek (whoops!)

I trust you will forgive me, Michael, it is the first time I have contributed to any such discussion.

I forgive you, but my comments were intended as a joke, so I also forgive you for not understanding my clumsy humor. That said, what led you to digging up that old a post? Were you checking out villanelles, tracking David Mason, or simply (my guess) working backwards through every Distinguished Guest thread ever? Since I have trouble keeping up with what was posted yesterday, the 13-year dredge is, in its way, awesome.

I wrote one once with the refrain line "The world does not need one more villanelle", and obviously graywyvern agrees with me.

(PS - I love wyverns. I even love just saying "Wyverns".)

Never mind. Not funny.