A poet neglected by publishers, and somewhat unfamiliar to the general reading audience-- yet championed by Formalists Dana Gioa and Randell Jarell, as well as free-verse advocates with formal interests like Harvey Gross.
...an irregular villanelle.
<u>#1, of Five Villanelles</u>
The crack is moving down the wall.
Defective plaster isn’t all the cause.
We must remain until the roof falls in.
It’s mildly cheering to recall
That every building has it’s little flaws.
The crack is moving down the wall.
Here in the kitchen drinking gin,
We can accept the damndest laws.
We must remain until the roof falls in.
And though there’s no one here at all,
One searches every room because,
The crack is moving down the wall.
Repairs? But how can one begin?
The lease has warnings buried in each clause.
We must remain until the roof falls in.
These nights one hears a creaking in the hall,
The sort of thing which gives one pause.
The crack is moving down the wall.
We must remain until the roof falls in.
[This message has been edited by MacArthur (edited February 23, 2001).]
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