How to Write a Villanelle Poem

‘The Way Things Are Is Large,’ is a villanelle in Poems for the Journey p.19. I like writing poems that have some form. It helps get me started with words on the page. Two strong lines about things the poet cares deeply about give energy for finding the other lines. For a while this poem was called ‘Earth Suffused With Light,’ when I saw it again I knew to go back to this original title, ‘The Way Things Are Is Large.’ Hope people try this and have fun with it. The lines can be one very silly and one serious.

VILLANELLE FORM

A, REFRAIN 1
B
A, REFRAIN 2
A
B
A, REFRAIN 1
A
B
A, REFRAIN 2
A
B
B. REFRAIN 1
A
B
REFRAIN 2
A
B
A, REFRAIN 1
A. REFRAIN 2