Boundaries and Walls
A Villanelle on Human Division
I cannot recall How these came to be Boundaries and walls.
Long before the fall, Lost in history, I cannot recall.
Built them high and tall, Far as they could see, Boundaries and walls.
What problem was solved, What threat so relieved, I cannot recall.
We were all at fault, Our worst enemies, Boundaries and walls.
The end of it all, Finally set free, I cannot recall Boundaries and walls.
Humanity has a history of building walls to keep the “other” out. These may have made sense in earlier, more barbaric times, when civilizations collapsed and disorder and chaos reigned.
I guess, in many ways, we are entering this phase once again, caused by our societal loss of moral values and the greed of those in political and economic power.But the enemy today cannot be blocked by physical walls.
A villanelle is a 19-line poem consisting of five tercets (3-line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (4-line stanza). It features two repeating refrains — the first and third lines of the opening stanza — which recur throughout the poem and at the end. The strict rhyme scheme is ABA for tercets, ABAA for the ending quatrain.
These were originally French pastoral songs, and were popularized further by Dylan Thomas in his poem: “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” The theme should develop through the poem, taking on different nuances.
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