Frederick Wilbur Verse-Virtual 2017 March

March 2017

I was brought up and still live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia so I rely on imagery derived from the natural landscape to explore human relationships. My wife, Elizabeth, and I have two daughters and three grandchildren. I have been an architectural woodcarver for over 35 years and have written numerous articles and three books on the subject. My poetry has appeared in Shenandoah, Green Mountains Review, The Lyric, The South Carolina Review, Southern Poetry Review, and others.

Revenge

I have tried to write a villanelle,
but among true sentiments, my words are muddled,
it reads like revenge from holy hell.

Better would be the tree which proverbially fell
or the scream before its blood has puddled.
I have tried to write a villanelle

with all my heart, yet I confess I cannot spell
and my spiky syntax cannot by readers be cuddled.
It reads like revenge from holy hell,

it is a smidgeon of secret, a characteristic tell,
a migraine of metaphors befuddled.
I have tried to write a villanelle.

A far-fetched sports analogy just might quell
your snickers, if you are in prosy prose huddled.
This reads like revenge from holy hell.

Release me please from this semantic cell,
bruised, sweating, cheeks all ruddled.
I have tried to write a villanelle,
but it reads like revenge from holy hell.

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