Who Will You Be?
A Villanelle About the Masks We Wear
The stage of life is fraught with strife and danger
And we each choose our roles in its great play
We don our masks each time we meet a stranger
~
For all we know, each character's a changer
Whose role is to deter us on our way
The stage of life is fraught with strife and danger
~
Behind the mask of Poet, Priest or Granger
May lurk the face of sorrow or dismay
We don our masks each time we meet a stranger
~
You set the stage yourself, as life's arranger
And you can play a new role every day
The stage of life is fraught with strife and danger
~
The mask we choose may be “dog in the manger”
Or any role that suits us, come what may
We don our masks each time we meet a stranger
~
Choose carefully, lest others you endanger
Harm not yourself, nor others on this day
The stage of life is fraught with strife and danger
We don our masks each time we meet a stranger
~~~
I don't know why I decided to go with a Villanelle, or why I set myself up with some interesting rhyming words, but here it is, for better or for worse.
If ya' like it, please click that heart button. Better yet, leave me a comment. Your thoughts matter!
Thanks for reading this entry for the Masks We Wear Challenge:
About the Creator
Dana Crandell
Dad, Stepdad, Grandpa, Husband, lover of Nature and dogs.
Poet, Writer, Editor, Photographer, Artist
My poetry collection: Life, Love & Ludicrosity
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'20/20'
"Do It Again" the track that would ultimately open the Beach Boys final album on Capitol Records which was released on February 10th 1969 had originally been released as a single in August of 1968. The track was the first of many post-Pet Sounds era throwbacks to the early Beach Boys sound which would become continually more cliched and eventually lead the Beach Boys to the level of self-parody they would eventually succumb to in the 1980s while their closest contemporaries The Beatles nearing the end of their run in 1969 would go on to be viewed as the most influential band of all time. However, the song itself is not bad on its surface, and it opens with a futuristic sounding (for 1969) drumbeat captured by then-Beach Boys engineer Stephen Desper using tape delays on the drums performed by Dennis Wilson and John Guerin. The song has been re-recorded numerous times over the years on various Beach Boys-related projects most notably the 2011 re-recording at Capitol studios featuring the five surviving Beach Boys at the time backed instrumentally by various members of both the Brian Wilson Band and Mike Loves touring "Beach Boys" to promote the then upcoming Beach Boys 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012. The hammering and power drill sound at the end of the song was an excerpt from a track called "Workshop" that was to be a part of the uncompleted "SMiLE" album.
By Sean Callaghan7 days ago in Beat
Comments (15)
This was great. the villanelle structure really worked.
This does make me think about my power of choice in my masking. Nice one.
Your author's note gave me a laugh, because you certainly felt the need to up the anti for this challenge!! Love the repeat language and over all feel of this, Dana!! Belated congrats on Top Story!!
Congrats !!
Congratulations on this Top Story. 🎉 Well done! Good luck in the challenge, Dana. ✍️
Well written and a pleasurable read!
Woah, this is superbly done. Now I feel lazy. Congrats on a spectacular entry, Dana
The metaphor of life as a stage feels fresh here because of your careful phrasing and subtle shifts in tone. Each refrain lands with more weight, revealing deeper layers of meaning.
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Such an amazing job with what I consider to be a difficult writing endeavor. Congratulations on the Top Story, too. Well done.
Annnnd back to say congrats, well deserved
I like your villanelle! Looks to me like a worthy contribution to the challenge.
I like the playfulness within your front stage/back stage portrayal of human beans. Well executed Mr 👍😁
We set the stage ourselves, that is so true. Loved your poem@
Funny enough, I chose a villanelle for my entry for this challenge as well. I guess that this challenge just calls for a villanelle, somehow. Anyway, well done, regardless. Villanelle is a difficult form to pull off, and I think that you have done very nicely here. The repetition creates a very good rhythm, and the message is an interesting one. Good luck on the challenge!