Superfluous Words
The world does not need one more villanelle,
yet teachers still assign the exercise.
Sooner or later someone does it well.
More verses than the damned can read in hell
are written daily, so it’s no surprise
the world does not need one more villanelle,
but does it need the countless things we sell
in stores, the million things we advertise?
Sooner or later something is done well.
The lovers meet, the monk prays in his cell,
the married have their kids whose scratchy cries
the world does not need. One more villanelle
or less, what does it matter? Truth to tell,
we all make things for others to despise.
Sooner or later someone does it well.
What if we fail in trying to excel?
We’ll all fit coffins of a standard size.
The world does not need one more villanelle,
but still, from time to time, one does it well.
—Gail White, Breaux Bridge, LA
