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The Rhythmic Villanelle

She always taps the railings when she walks along the street

No matter the weather, her mood, if she’s early or late

It goes tap, tap step tap, step tap tap, and repeat.

 

It’s a simple and quiet lived life to the beat

Of her fears, her obsessively organized fate

She always taps the railings when she walks down the street.

 

It helps her feel calm; to tap makes the walk neat,

Step twice near the fountain and jump over the grate

It goes tap, tap step tap, step tap tap and repeat.

 

Do her neighbors peek, do they point, do they bleat

About the girl who’s got rhythm tied into her fate?

She always taps the railings when she walks down the street.

 

And her parents, do they not fear for her feet

And her tapping obsession, psychiatrist’s bait

It goes tap, tap step tap, step tap tap and repeat.

 

But it’s hers, her own comforting lullaby sweet

It protects her from bombs, famine and food past it’s due-date

So she always taps the railings when she walks down the street.

She goes tap. Tap step tap. Step tap tap. And repeat.

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a
Written by
amber-rosborough
Canadian
Published
Aug 7, 2013
Lines·Words
19·193
Notes

I have an email subscription that sends me writing ideas, and they sent me the format for a poem type called the villanelle, and after having recently watched a documentary about obsessive compulsive disorders, this poem was born.

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