January 26, 2004

Funeral Testimonies

This is a villanelle i just finished* for poetry-writing class.
I'm not quite sure if I bent the form around too much.
Most of the villanelles I've read twist it around a bit,
but since I've never written one, I'm not really sure.

Thoughts?
Suggestions?
Villanelles of your own?

*finished, in the sense that I am ready to turn it in.
not finished, in the sense that I will probably tweak it some more.

Funeral Testimonies

Elmira Dinkel, 72
�'Our pastor is a happy man!'
children laughed, so he doled out treats
to make them laugh again.�

Deacon Thomas, 46
�He's gone to a better place than
this. We know �Well done� will greet
our Pastor, happy man.�

Kelly Wagner, 23
�When my best friend died, he had this plan
(well, my best friend was his helpmeet)
but anyway, a plan to make me laugh again.�

Bobby Shanks, 4
�At Harvest Fest, him and me, we ran
around wif clown shoes on our feet.
He was a bery happy man.�

Craig Sweitzer, 17
�He told these jokes like only pastors can,
old corny jokes. He thought they were neat,
and he made us laugh again.�

Next-Door Neighbor, 34
�Your pastor was such a happy man.
Even his last choice was a happy feat:
car fumes, so not to wake the street
while making himself laugh again.�

Posted by stephanie at January 26, 2004 12:00 PM | TrackBack