might become a victim of the night,

A warrior, I walked throughout the day,

Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

The pillow, over there, it looks just right,

It looks to me and says, “Please come and stay.”

It wants me as a victim of the night.

But, yet, I have a villanelle to write,

I whisper to it, “no,” and look away,

Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

My bed looks warm, the blankets, a delight,

It seems the perfect place to go and lay,

To trap me as a victim of the night.

But, no, my page is still completely white,

Oh villanelle from hell is what I say,

Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

Aha, I’ve got the answer to my plight,

I’ll sleep on it and try another day,

Oh, bed, make me a victim of the night.

In dreams, I write, I write, I write, I write.

“Rebellious Villanelle” was a winner of UW-Eau Claire’s Kirkwood Award for 2014. It’s reprinted here by permission of the author. J.J. Close graduated in May of 2014 and plans to pursue a career in writing.