I agree, Basil.
They are easy to write: so many repeating lines. Like triolets, which are a doddle. Unlike roundels or rondeaus, which are not easy.
Finding a theme to suit the form is the hard part, IMO.
Best regards,
David

THE THING ABOUT A VILLANELLE

The thing about a villanelle is that
no one likes them -- yet the form won't die.
It's where so many poets think it's at

and that they've earned a feather for their hat
whenever they complete one. My reply:
the thing about a villanelle is that

they always seem so lifeless and so flat.
The mystery is understanding why
it's where so many poets think it's at.

And let me share with you this little stat:
the world already has a big supply.
The thing about a villanelle is that

we need them like a blind mouse needs a cat,
like deserts need a little bit more dry.
It's where so many poets think it's at,

so here's my own. I've loved our little chat,
but now it's time for me to say good-bye.
The thing about a villanelle is that
it's where so many poets think it's at.

Not so many, seems to me Roger, however depite that, maybe TOO many :-)

moving on with this

Plague
(Mass slaughter, UK foot and mouth epidemic, spring 2001)

The guns are loud across the land tonight.
Grim beacon flames flash out from shire to shire
and horror groans without an end in sight.

Best not to look as marksmen expedite
such slaughter. Hired to empty every byre,
the guns are loud. Across the land tonight

Spring flinches at the foulness of the blight
that lurks within the pall above each pyre,
and horror groans without an end, in sight

of pallid flames where all is darkly bright.
So draw the blinds and turn the music higher—
the guns are loud across the land tonight.

Send off the children. Let them still delight
in childish things; don’t tell them life’s a liar
and horror groans. Without an end in sight

there seems no point. Why carry on, why fight?
Not only cattle perish in the fire,
and horror groans without an end in sight.
The guns are loud across the land tonight.

VILLONELLE
His brothers in humanity appal,
a motley, criminal kaleidoscope.
His snows of yesteryear like teardrops fall.

A life spent in an intermittent brawl,
providence saved him from the hangman’s rope.
His brothers in humanity appal.

His verse, a potpourri of vitriol,
libido, self-revulsion and soft soap.
His snows of yesteryear like teardrops fall.

What have we learned since Villon? Bugger all!
Might kicks right further down the slippery slope.
Our brothers in humanity appal.

Con-men and executioners still call
the shots. Brute force brings down the antelope.
Our snows of yesteryear like teardrops fall.

Waste. Warfare. Want. The same old fol-de-rol.
True peace remains an evanescent hope.
His brothers in humanity appal.
Our snows of yesteryear like teardrops fall.

I must say, Peter and David, that I can see either/both of those ion some poetry magazine. because they are ABOUT something interesting which most English villanelles, including my own here, are not.

FOR POLE DANCER FIFI AT FIFTY


Do not dance naked in too strong a light.
Near-darkness suits you best, though only just.
Fast movement is no friend to cellulite.

On stage, I fear, there’s every chance you might
lose all control of dimpled thighs and bust.
Do not dance naked in too strong a light.

And since your stomach now is less than tight
resist all thoughts of bump and grind and thrust.
Fast movement is no friend to cellulite.

Your contents may well still be packed in tight;
but, since their pie now has a suet crust,
do not dance naked in too strong a light.

Gyration now puts more than just a slight
chill damper on the wilder shores of lust.
Fast movement is no friend to cellulite.

There is no easy way to be polite.
Alternative employment is a must.
Do not dance naked. In too strong a light
fast movement is no friend to cellulite.

Very good one, Martin. Just one tiny suggestion. Possibly repunctuate the end:

There is no easy way to be polite.
Alternative employment is a must.
Do not dance naked. In too strong a light,
fast movement is no friend to cellulite.

Roger, Excellent idea. Thanks for that.