Poets logo

Oh, To Weave the Magic

Revenge/return of the Villanelle (sorta)

By Paul StewartPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
I totally painted this with my own hands...nah, ChatGPT and Dall-E helped me, I prompted them. The machines haven't won yet!

My dream is to weave the magic that holds you, grips you tightly

Whether in joyful laughter, deep sadness or terrifying horror

Oh how I want my writing to plague you, both daily and nightly

-

Even as just a hobby, the art of writing I do not take lightly

I live to ellicit laughter, tears and hushed screams of terror

My dream is to weave the magic that holds you, grips you tightly

-

When waxing lyrically, whether blatantly or with careful subtlety

I relish the lip bites, hushed gasps and delicious fervour

Oh how I want my writing to plague you, both daily and nightly

-

My dream is to weave the magic that holds you, grips you tightly

Wait...my dream is to take you on a journey with my clever words

To take you into a dream world or nightmarish land of my design

-

Oh how I want my writing to plague you, both daily and nightly

Actually plague you, leave you wanting more or hating my worlds

My dream is to weave the magic that makes you want to crave

-

Crave more, need more, no matter how distressing, how hellish

Even when I'm making you laugh, I want you to be in hysterics

My dream is to weave the magic that holds you, grips you tightly

Oh how I want my writing to plague you, both daily and nightly

*

Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes: In the newfangled tradition I find myself in of purging the WIP, this has been hanging around there since the Villanelle challenge. I hated Villanelles at first then loved them. This, I feel is relatable to many, the context of this poem. This doesn't strictly follow the Villanelle formatting, because, what the hell. I don't know whether you love or hate Villanelles. You can let me know in the comments section if you want. Anyway. I feel like I'm releasing a lot of B-sides lol.

fact or fictionperformance poetrysocial commentarysurreal poetryVillanelleinspirational

About the Creator

Paul Stewart

Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.

The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection out now!

Streams and Scratches in My Mind coming soon!

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (8)

Sign in to comment
  • Kristen Balyeat2 years ago

    Well, I'd say you accomplish all of that with your work! This is a beautiful piece, Pal! I really enjoyed tackling the villanelles. At first I couldn't get anything on paper, but once I got started they flowed right out. I'll have to take another stab at them. Hope you are doing well! It has been chaos over here in Colorado. Been getting our house ready to list, looking for a new house in Washington State, packing and trying to keep our sanity. My brain has been preoccupied and I haven't been getting much time to let my brain dump. :) Trying to submit to the challenges, at least. Happy to be back for an evening and able to read a little bit:)

  • L.C. Schäfer2 years ago

    I'm afraid I still hate them... I mean I hate writing them. They fox me completely! But I love this one and it's completely relatable.

  • Magnificent, Sir Paul! This was definitely relatable! I'm still too terrified to try a Villanelle, lol!

  • For a B side, this would qualify as A side for most of us, expressing precisely that effect we hope our words to have.

  • Dana Crandell2 years ago

    B+ at least. Villanelles are not for the faint of heart, but I enjoyed creating mine more than expected. Well done!

  • John Cox2 years ago

    This is a delightfully impish villanelle, Paul. Your words do all of the above and more.

  • Cathy holmes2 years ago

    Well done, my friend. I had a love/hate relationship with vills. I like how mine turned out out, but they're not easy to pull together. Great job on this quasi-vill.

  • Test2 years ago

    You know I love your work...still on Villanelle embargo though sorry...However... we're looking for contributing writers for our PViM profile...Thought you migh be interested, maybe in an interview or a feature article or something? https://shopping-feedback.today/authors/proud-vi-m-productions%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class="css-w4qknv-Replies">

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2026 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.