Day 3 - Form

Things seem to be going well so far as day 3 is upon us and I don't feel quite as hopless as last year. Day 3 is all about form. The official prompt from the site was in regards to the Glosa - a form of poetry where you react, glossing or summarising an excerpt from another piece.

I instead have chosen something I have never really got along with but am going to attempt again - the villainous Villanelle. Villanelles are a poetic form, best described here. A classic example is "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas. Without further ado, here's mine:

Villanelle

In that long deathly sleep, what dreams may come?

As we, weary travellers, drift silently into the night - 

who knows what awaits us when the day is done.

Far removed from the city’s rage, the pounding drum 

of thunder, car horn, street vendor and lamp light.

In that long deathly sleep, what dreams may come?

Filled with fancy, with daring, footloose and fun,

the longing to be held - the urge for some heroic plight.

Who knows what awaits us when the day is done

in that space of solitude, away from setting sun.

At the close of day as the last embers alight - 

in that long deathly sleep, what dreams may come?

The wonders of the mind, the stories to be spun 

from every epithet of our memories and sights.

Who knows what awaits us when the day is done

and the world falls away, our dreaming just begun 

as we give into our desires, our fantasies and frights.

In that long deathly sleep, what dreams may come?

Who knows what awaits us when the day is done.