You can keep your liberty.

It was never mine at all.

This year I set myself a challenge to start experimenting with poetry forms I have never tried to write in before. Well, this is the first Villanelle I have ever attempted and, if I’m honest, I hate the form. But it was good for me nevertheless. In the process of writing this one poem in a strict form I also produced three more poems which didn’t fit the form at all. If I hadn’t tried something harder I might never have stumbled across the magic beans that grew into three poems am really happy with.

And I’m not entirely displeased with the Villanelle I produced either – only the form itself. You can read the full poem here.