[Henry Quince]

Couldn’t resist doing this — same initial word in each stanza as in the DT.
....

Do Not Go Hasty to Give Dylan Hell

Do not go hasty to give Dylan hell —
that dithyrambic bard who died too young —
for his “Do not go gentle” villanelle.

Though not his best, those lines have cast a spell
these fifty years on readerships far-flung.
Do not go hasty to give Dylan hell.

Good critics know they should not seek to tell
that brilliant Welshman that a trope is wrong
in his “Do not go gentle” villanelle.

Wild men in flight — can we assess them well?
We, with our passion on a lower rung,
should not go hasty to give Dylan hell.

Brave captious men may pelt the citadel
of genius with eggs; still hearts are wrung
by that “Do not go gentle” villanelle.

And he, who there foretolled his father’s knell —
though now, in that good night, he can’t be stung,
do not go hasty to give Dylan hell
for his “Do not go gentle” villanelle.



[This message has been edited by Henry Quince (edited June 14, 2004).]