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Perfectly Paradelle
I like to stare at cloud-covered know-nothing skies.
I like to stare at cloud-covered know-nothing skies.
Soon a raindrop clears away my tears.
Soon a raindrop clears away my tears.
I know tears like a raindrop away to skies,
My cloud-covered stare at nothing soon clears.
My name an echo carried over the wind.
My name an echo carried over the wind.
Surrounded by people yet alone all the same.
Surrounded by people yet alone all the same.
An echo, alone, yet surrounded by the same wind.
Carried over all the people, my name.
Silence is no longer broken by the ticking clock.
Silence is no longer broken by the ticking clock.
Day gives way to sedated night, a new world created.
Day gives way to sedated night, a new world created.
A longer day created, the new world is broken, no clock.
By night, ticking gives way to silence, sedated.
I created the new world, surrounded by nothing, alone.
Like to an echo, cloud-covered, all broken away.
Night is no clock carried by wind over ticking skies.
My name soon gives way to a raindrop.
The people know, yet stare at my tears.
A longer, sedated day clears the same silence.
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This article has 3 comments.
I also love the phrase " know-nothing" skies.
This was a difficult poem to write, but it felt so rewarding all the same. This is a paradelle, originally created by the poet Billy Collins. It was created to be a parody of the villanelle (which is another form of poem that I have published here) though I thought it would be a nice experience to try writing a paradelle myself, even if Billy Collins wasn’t taking it seriously when he wrote his own paradelle. It has very specific requirements. The first and second, as well as third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas must all be the same. Then, the fifth and sixth lines of those three stanzas must use all of the words from the first four lines of the stanza, and only those words. The final stanza uses every words from the fifth and sixth lines of all three stanzas before it.