Her wait

Villanelles are a nightmare; there is no other way to say it. The form is originally French and didn't appear in English until the later 1800's. It is 19 lines long, but only uses two rhymes, while also repeating two lines throughout the poem. The first five stanzas are triplets, and the last stanza is a quatrain such that the rhyme scheme is as follows: "aba aba aba aba aba abaa." The tricky part is that the 1st and 3rd lines from the first stanza are alternately repeated such that the 1st line becomes the last line in the second stanza, and the 3rd line becomes the last line in the third stanza. The last two lines of the poem are lines 1 and 3 respectively, making a rhymed couplet. Confused? A villanelle needs no particulary meter or line length, so feel free to experiment with the form. It is terribly obsessive and can bring out the emotions of any neurotic writer

Her Wait

In quest of elusive soul mate
She has let dear time pass by
Has it become just too late?

Was it the fault of her sad fate?
Had she set her standards high?
In quest of elusive soul mate

With any man she couldn’t relate
Sly, mean men had made her cry
Has it become just too late?

She was in a sorry, fearful state
For she had made her chances fly
In quest of elusive soul mate

Today she has become forty eight;
A phase in time when the dreams die
Has it become just too late?

Being lonely was never great
She reflects as the clock ticks by
In quest of elusive soul mate
Has it become just too late?