water landing
Evil villanelles. As if sestinas weren't tricky enough, now we have to repeat whole lines. I began writing this on a flight to Boston. After hearing the routine safety procedures for the umpteenth time, I wanted to use the villanelle format as panicked mantra. The most difficult aspect of the repeated lines was the decision to include the weak prepositional start.
Your Seat Cushion May Be Used As a Flotation Device
In the event of a water landing
you'll find me thumbing through the news of the day
in search of an appropriate ending
to the story on page A2. Though doom is surely pending
I'll relinquish sensation and emotion, if I may,
in this event of a water landing.
Meanwhile, the captain will bark calming orders (pretending
he is home with his youngest daughter, pretending he is brave.)
in search of an appropriate ending,
Someone in Coach Class Row Nineteen will sing a hymn
with gelatinous breath (a coagulated melee)
in the event of a water landing.
Perhaps the chap next to me will ignore the din
of whining metal and begin, instead, to pray
in search of an appropriate ending.
Quiet detachment will be my only sin:
in the daily anxieties held at bay,
in the event of a water landing,
in the search for an appropriate ending.
