Villanelle PUBLICATION

Hello everyone!

I don’t know why it is…but I tend to “purposefully forget” to share publications to my amazing readers & followers, to my friends and family. I think it’s because I write for me and for the basic joy of language. I publish and submit to publication so that others may share in this joy with me.

I’ve two new villanelles published in the Winter 2019 Edition (Volume 13 Issue 2) of Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women. I’ve been blessed to have been published in this journal before as well in 2011, also with two villanelles. *You can find those HERE!

After I share a snippet of my poem(s) here and post the link, I want to give just a brief introduction to the villanelle! So….please check out the rest of this post!

Excerpt from my villanelle: “Therapy”

Therapy

Why did you come and talk with me today?
I loved a girl; she left and broke my heart.
Well, for a price, I’ll take your cares away!

I do hope that you can afford to pay…
Exactly when will the therapy start?
Why did you come and talk with me today?

Was it some broken heart? What did you say?
I feel as if my soul’s been ripped apart.
Well, for a price, I’ll take your cares away!

Perhaps you need a scrip: “Take twice a day”.
No, no…I’m just another broken heart.
Then why’d you come and talk with me today?

•••••••••••••For more, please follow the following link: Brittany Hill TWO Villanelles Mezzo Cammin Here you will find what happens at the end of this therapy session AND my other published villanelle “Grandma’s Relationship Advice to Me on My 16th Birthday”••••••••••••••

The Villanelle

First of all–NO! I’m not referencing the main character/killer/amazing actress from Killing Eve! But…the form is just as intriguing.

Much like the sonnet, the villanelle is a poem in ‘form’ and written in iambic pentameter--five foot lines of stressed/unstressed syllables. Although, a villanelle usually has 19 lines. It also contains five stanzas of three lines, or tercets, followed by a single stanza of four lines, or a quatrain.

Now, the trickier part… There are two repeating lines and two repeating refrains. If I were to write out all these instructions, it would be even more convoluted and confusing! So, I’ll just go ahead and write out the rhyme and refrain pattern for a visual guide, followed by a famous villanelle example.

Note: Capital letters are the refrain & lowercase letters are the rhyme.

A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2.

So, as you can see: A1 and A2 are the repeating refrains, while a/b are the rhyming lines.

Let’s look at an example!

One of the most famous villanelles is Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” (I have bolded the repeating A1 phrase and underlined the A2 repeating refrain).

     Do not go gentle into that good night,
     Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

     Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
     Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

     Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
     And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
     Do not go gentle into that good night.

     Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
     Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

     And you, my father, there on the sad height,
     Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
     Do not go gentle into that good night.
     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

WOW! Such a powerful poem! No wonder it holds such strength, intrigue, and longevity. You can really see how those repeating lines build up momentum in tone, in the heaviness of emotion throughout the poem, in a hope or longing for the author’s father to beat death–to ‘rage’ against the dying light (his life extinguishing).

YOU TRY!

I would love to see your villanelle examples! Feel free to comment them OR email them to me if you’re not comfortable having them posted here. Remember: Most villanelle topics are chosen so that they are suitable for repetition. Much like my published example, “Therapy” the speaker was having very difficult time in the relationship and even the therapist couldn’t figure out how to fix that broken heart. In Thomas’ example, well…there’s nothing more intense than dealing with losing a loved one. You may even choose to write happy villanelles too that require repetition: can’t figure out where to move, couldn’t choose between two great desserts, daydreaming all day about vacation?! All great topics! I’d love to see them and your thoughts on my published work 🙂

See you all really soon!

LAMPLIGHT

Nine times out of ten I like talking about other people–to other people.

But, there’s this period between dusk and dawn that belong to my thoughts–to me.

My pen enjoys the fluidity of writing the mockery in “M”, elucidates laughter from the soul in the “E”, leaves out (purposefully) the harshness of the confusing “Y-O-U”.

Selfishly, she sometimes dots an “I” without batting any, chooses not to play for a team so works independently for awhile.

But as the sun peeks perspicaciously over ‘City of Oaks’–we better start our day–together.

This Too Shall Pass

This too shall pass…I pray that if I say it enough an angel waiting wrapped in cellophane will release its wings, feather-by-feather, cover me in Peace and Grace. So light, my trepidation will fly against the Heavens as stars; burst into gas, alight a new awakening galaxy.

Or, am I made of cellophane? Do you see so clearly through me? Quickly pick apart the pieces of cogs and wheels my brain lays way to take shape? Sit by and watch the flooding chambers of my heart and wait on baited breath to see if what’s left will ever fill back up again?

What flows through your “parchemented” mind in those 3.5 seconds? Funny thing about cellophane is that it suffocates as it protects.

I tend to write heavy moments with a stream of consciousness detail, making sure to allow myself to feel the deep emotion that is attached to my experience–this feels the best way for my catharsis to be effective. And I am a huge proponent on using writing (whether it be poetry, prose, notes, or doodles) for a cathartic process. In fact, my MFA Graduate research project was on poetry for cathartic process, and I used research from various emotional trauma (physical and emotional abuse in domestic relationships) as well as a large section on PTSD in the military all the way back from World War ll.

What are some ways that you deal with stress, anxiety, or emotional entanglements? If you would be open to share any thoughts or example, please comment below or send an email to me!

Staying Afloat

Burning

I wish that I could be caught on fire

With scented candles placed from tips

Of fingers to tips of toes, body stripped

Of worldly clothes—make it sacrificial.

I want to be sent out to the Atlantic,

Vast and cold, with fired sorrow emblazoned

In me so that I may commence rebirth

From the ashes, washed in the sea.

—-Brittany Rea Hill

Today has been a ~~pretty~~ very difficult today. One of those days where you’d like to never move from the couch, or bed, or chair, but you have absolutely no choice because you have doctors appointments and life. Yep–that day.

One of the most uncomfortable symptoms of my RA is pleurisy which is basically when the pleura–membrane with a layer of tissue that lines the inner chest cavity and a layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs gets inflamed–and has severe sharp/shooting pains. I know, really basic, right? All that is important to know is BREATHING=PAIN! I was given one of those Peak Flow Meters a few months ago when I had my first severe case of pleurisy that sent me to the ER.

It is supposed to help keep my lungs open, make deep breathing easier, and allow me too track my progress with breathing when I am having long flare ups. Ugh! When I have to take this thing out, I almost immediately break down and crack open my little steroid tic tacs every time! But, I attempt to take my steroids as little as possible since it has so many longterm side effects.

My pleurisy has been so bad though, that I couldn’t even do my nails today! That’s right: I have Memorial Day toes and tips on! It is so terrible. For those of you who follow me on Instagram and Snapchat, you know that I am constantly changing my nail designs and nail shapes. I absolutely love doing my nails, it’s very relaxing to me. I think I enjoy doing most creative activities because they allow me to utilize my brain in different nonrestrictive ways.

My first attempt at doing a French Fade/Baby Boomer!

This is precisely why working in a corporate setting has never uhh been my ‘thing’. I feel like I am suffocating and that my time should and could be better spent doing a million other things than literally anything else going on on my desk, let alone in the office. The only thing that I found remotely exciting was the office gossip, and even that got too much too fast. I had my own stuff going on, I didn’t have time for all of those people coming to my desk stressing me out because her baby’s father wanted to have their baby around his new girlfriend, or because Jose caught his boyfriend cheating with Jose’s Uber driver that he thought he was going on a date with after he met him on Tinder…or the 45 year-old alcoholic coming into work cussing out the entire management staff, throwing papers in his face and telling him he needs to do the work himself if he can’t keep his mouth out of her business…and then she gets suspended for two weeks, but comes into work the next day, stands by my desk where I give her the eye and she sits down leaving a whiff of alcohol that I don’t know is Listerine or 80 proof. I do not have the time. Besides, I now have dedicated time and teaspoons of energy to give to my writing and music.I do miss working outside of the home though; just being able to see different faces, absorb fresh air and sun. Yet, for such a long time, being unwell has made me unable to work, both physically and mentally. It has just been in the last month or so that I’ve felt like, ‘Hey! I may be able to start doing this again!’ Most people don’t know that I have been working since the age of 13 (actually prior to that because my family has a business and you better believe I was contributing my share of help! But now, I want to focus on my writing and music–funny, how life works out that way I think.

So, my post is shorter and later today because I spent most of my afternoon getting yet another chest X-ray to check the condition of my lungs and heart (pleurisy and pericarditis–which I have had a couple of times before as well). Last night I was awake and in terrible pain (PAINSOMNIA!) until about 3:00AM, and in those moments, I spend time writing, editing, and submitting poetry. I want to share this piece with you which I have submitted for publication in various journals. It was under revision and I wrote this while awake at 4:00AM during a PAINSOMNIA! event, too. Please, I am open to your comments, to your questions.

If you also have a piece of writing that you’ve writing during a time of ‘PAINSOMNIA!’ do feel free to post it in comments below, or send mean e-mail so that I may post it here at a later time! Here is my poem again below!