A ‘Formal (Villanelle)’ Poem by Elizabeth Lancaster
And slowly
they grow
Giving
heart, soul, your very best
A child you
will come to know
Moral
compass inside them stow
Hastily, hurriedly,
impatiently invest
And slowly
they grow
Kneading a
life, like a soft, rising dough
Point them
east – they’ll go west
A child you
will come to know
Hear
opportunity, in their ear, whispers “hello”
While you
wait to rest,
And slowly
they grow
Against all
odds, the spinning world and circling crows
Look away!
They fall from the nest
A child you
will come to know
And onward
they go
And limits
they test
And slowly
they grow
A child you
will come to know
