As 2024 comes to a close, I thought I'd resurface one of the two villanelles published earlier this year at Grand Little Things. This beloved online publication, devoted to poems utilizing traditional forms, has been a regular supporter of my work. To wit, I've had at least one piece published on the website every year since 2020. That's a record for me! The below poem, "Footwork," is part of a larger series on which I've been working for well over a year. Come to think of it, "In Truth," the other poem is also a part of the same series but I'm more inclined to share the one here since it's got a more optimistic message, which seems appropriate as we move into 2025. For what it's worth, I realize that I'm breaking from the predetermined structure at the end of the villanelle but ultimately, that's part of the point of the poem.
Footwork Love is a thing that one chooses to do,
an action to counter one’s tendency
to hook up then break up and then make do
with whatever ensues (like balls turned blue
or the misstep of codependency).
Love is a thing that one chooses to do;
it’s you choosing Love, not Love choosing you,
a moving towards, not ascendency.
To hook up then break up and then make do
is directional… and instructional, too.
Why not learn a new choreography?
Love is a thing that one chooses to do;
a pas de deus that requires one to
renounce one’s outdated philosophy:
to hook up then break up and then make do
is a wearisome pattern in which you
and I stumble inevitably.
Love is a thing that one chooses to do:
Post hook up. Pre break up. With luck, break through.
"Footwork" was originally published alongside "In Truth" by Grand Little Things in August 2024. The illustration above "Courageous Heart Red" is a royalty-free vector graphic by Ioachim Marcu a.k.a. starchim1 at Pixabay.
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