Name: RonsGirlFriday (Signed) · Date: 04 Mar 2022 05:56 AM · For: And still there's the wind to batter and moan

Hey Branwen, what the fuck? These words just fell out of your head and arranged themselves perfectly in this manner? Rude.

 

Villanelles are so cool. I've never tried to write one but am in awe of anyone who can wrangle this format and just really use those two repeated lines to create such a vibe like this. It's eerie and feels kind of bleak at first but then gets a little more hopeful, and all the way through it just feels like a struggle, barren, but beautiful.

 

<3 Melanie

Name: blackballet (Signed) · Date: 24 Feb 2022 09:59 PM · For: And still there's the wind to batter and moan

Hi Branwen, back for the galazy!

 

I love the form of this poem. I am so bad at poetry, so I don't typically read it, but this is making me fall in love a little bit <3 

 

I love the imagery for the bite of cold reigning like cruel kings, it really encapsulates the feeling of terrible cold. And the wind only makes that feeling worse. And I wonder what the cold respresents in the second stanza regarding "no matter how much you've grown". It feelsl like the cold is a metaphor for something else...

I kind of feel like the speaker is battling against some form of trauma -- the repetition of batter and moan and through the bone feel are very physical word choices. And again, with the memories being held and the unknown ending, its like the speaker is working through something. To me, it's both actual cold and another antagonist. 

 

Thank you for writing this poem!! It felt amazing to flex my analytical muscle and also just to appreciate beautiful words <3

Catherine

 

Name: something wicked (Signed) · Date: 20 Feb 2021 02:53 PM · For: And still there's the wind to batter and moan

this, literally, chilled me. to the bone. which i think already is a good sign because like foes what it says on the tin and all that :P seriously though this was haunting. i had to stop my music to read this aloud instead of just reading it off the screen because the words, the rhymes and the flow just screamed that it wanted to be read out loud. as poetry should be. your imagery is incredible. it’s haunting and leaves you with shivers but at the same time it’s gut wrenchingly beautiful, it’s lonely, and desolite, it’s being caught out with nowhere to hide, both metaphorically and literally. the feelings it evokes and just *chefskiss* amazing. also that's not even mentioning how difficult villanelles are to write and how precise all the damn rules are and reminds me of why i don’t write them, but this feels totally effortless. i’m amazed. you’re an artist here. 

 

d x. 

veni, vidi, foxi

 

Author's Response:

tysm deni i'm not crying you're crying <3 <3 <3

Name: Renacera (Signed) · Date: 10 Feb 2021 09:32 AM · For: And still there's the wind to batter and moan

Hello, my dear. As always, I tend to realize I need to read more poetry just as Inkies roll around.

Villanelles have to be one of the most difficult poetry forms for me to grasp. I took a poetry class in college and absolutely hated strict forms. But you clearly have a talent for them! I've read some of your poems before, of course, so it's always impressive to me when I can see somone who succeeds despite (what I see as) constraints.

I love the refrain you chose for this poem. It's vivid as an image—both in terms of something you can see, but also something you can hear and feel. It's very effective in making the reader understand the metaphors throughout.

Overall, despite what seems like it would be a dark refrain, this poem is really uplifting. I love the last stanza in particular. Great job!

xoxo,
Emily


*for the Fairyland review event*

Name: Sugar Glider (Anonymous) · Date: 17 Feb 2018 09:02 PM · For: And still there's the wind to batter and moan

okay so. your villanelles are pure gold. I read them and feel immediately blessed that you've written such a beautiful piece for us to read. you're so talented at writing these already, and this is only your second (?) villanelle.

 

I love the lines you've written as the repetition. they are just perfectly cold and austere, especially in contrast to the sort of ambitious hope that the rest of the lines imply. this whole poem has such power to it, like there's someone who is fiercely reaching for higher, better things, while the world is slowly swallowing them up.

 

also let me just say, your sense of rhythm is beautiful. I take such pleasure reading your poetry because of how pristine and crisp your rhythm is. reading this was so satisfying and wonderful, and I just loved every last word of this.

 

oh I love this so much, I have no words. <3