A Villanelle* Through Time
We fight a war with time that never ends
Death will find us all and send us on our way
Anyone believing they are immortal just pretends
In our youth we cling to lovers and to friends
Our lives seem to be filled with joy, laughter and play
We fight a war with time that never ends
We think by being wise, good, and noble time extends
But as our time goes past we can truly only pray
Anyone believing they are immortal just pretends
Growing older we often find ourselves victims of the trends
We fear to challenge the insolence of youth and simply walk away
We fight a war with time that never ends
In our desperate final years, we take what God and fate to us sends
Infirmity and weakness allow us nothing but what comes our way
Anyone believing they are immortal just pretends
And I say to you my true love as I try to make amends
I can’t open my heart to you and still neglect to say
We fight a war with time that never ends
Anyone believing they are immortal just pretends
_Leif lives in McCauley. His books can be found at the Edmonton Public Library or at Mint Health + Drugs on 96 Street. You can visit his website at www.edmontonwriter.com
*A vilanelle is a 19-line poem with two rhymes, five tercets, and a quatrain. The first and third lines of the opening tercet recurring alternately at the end of the other tercets and both are repeated at the close of the concluding quatrain.
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Next Issue . . .
Volume 40, Issue 6 will be published September 15. Articles and photos concerning community news, events, and opinions are welcome. We also accept submissions of poetry and cartoons. Deadline: August 22, 2019. Send submissions to: editor@bmcnews.org. Articles should be 400 words or less and accompanied by photographs (JPG, in high resolution) when possible.