A Penny For Your Books

Hello hello! I seem to go through cycles of regular posting, and not. I apologize for that.

Most recently I’ve started a new job (again, but this one should stick around for quite awhile) and had some health scares. While it’s still undetermined if anything is actually wrong, I often feel foggy, dizzy, and exhausted. Even two hour naps aren’t reinvigorating me like they should be. I refuse to believe that’s part of aging while I’m still in my mid-20s, so I’ll have to see if the doctors can figure anything out. In the mean time I’m still spending my free time writing, reading, working on homework, and watching films. I’ve also started submitting my work to various journals…which has inevitably led to even mor rejections (the theme of this poem).

I thought I’d post the poetry submission that I’ve received the most positive feedback on so far. It’s recently been workshopped and so I have some directions I can take it, but I also quite like it just the way it is. It’s written in a villanelle form, which consists of:

• 19 lines made up of 6 stanzas
  • 5 tercets and 1 quatrain
• The 2nd lines of every stanza will rhyme with each other
• The 1st and 3rd lines rhyme
  • The 1st line becomes the ultimate line of the second stanza and fourth stanza, and the penultimate line of the final stanza
  • The 3rd line becomes the ultimate line of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th stanzas

I hope you enjoy! I look forward to posting more writing as I gain more confidence and feedback.

Rejection Villanelle