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Rooster Booster - villanelle
by Penelope (Member) - published: April 28, 2008
Word Count: 147 Word Bytes: 1129 Viewed: 340 times
Category - Poetry
© Copyright by Penelope





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The Rooster’s strut is his stock and trade.
Grade A plumage well ruffled with sheen.
The gayest blade in the barnyard parade.

Dawn breaks with his lusty serenade.
Cooped hens cluck while he pauses to preen.
The Rooster’s strut is his stock and trade.

A scarlet comb is the Rooster’s cockade.
His wattle wobbles when he vents his spleen.
The gayest blade in the barnyard parade.

He counts chickens; not eggs that they’ve laid,
but won’t crown one his consort queen.
The Rooster’s strut is his stock and trade.

This bird’s pluck is no masquerade,
he’d cross the road to create a scene.
The gayest blade in the barnyard parade.

Well displayed in the bucolic brocade
until he’s deemed as coq au vin cuisine.
The Rooster’s strut is his stock and trade.
The gayest blade in the barnyard parade.

Penelope Allen
April 27th, 2008

CPC Rooster Stamp

------
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt



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Comments

The following comments are for "Rooster Booster - villanelle"
by Penelope

stock
I've gotta crow! I really like this one. It's as fun to read as you must have had in the composition.
Even when read silently, it feels like a tongue twister. There is also a clear moral disposition, here...you've penned a fable. Brava!

( Posted by: poeteye [Member] On: April 29, 2008 )

poeteye
Many thanks for your comment. I saw your villanelle too late (crash) to post a comment. Now I can't find it ... is it coming back?

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: May 9, 2008 )

Splendid, as always
I really love the way you put the words together to create an image. It's nice to see you are still putting Pen to paper!

( Posted by: brickhouse [Member] On: July 13, 2008 )

Penelope's rooster villanelle
Not your best in this series of villanelles, because it gives me a "static" sensation, almost as if the rooster is spending his whole villanelle time here scratching the ground, which is not, I don't think, what he does best.

While some of your better Chinese Zodiac villanelles are delightfully descriptive, and perfectly synergized to their subject, this one lacks that quality. This one defines rather than describes, and leaves me with the feel of, well, if poeteye calls it a fable, then it's the cardboard cover thereof and the vivid illustrations have somehow fallen out of the binding.

It's almost as if this rooster is not being "shown" at his strutting. That back and forth coming and going motion, that idea of "do I look good enough yet?" That time of preparation to ensure perfection before the "lusty serenade" (great, this, BTW) is finally delivered.

There is no question though, once again, that your choice of language here is absolutely beautiful. Your instinct for this is better than ever. Also, I like that you chose to have the rooster cooked gourmet rather than eaten raw by some fox somewhere. It showcases the bird's strutting pride to a noble end.

"he'd cross the road to create a scene": this, for me, is what intrigues me most about this rooster, and I think that's why I wish this were the aspect of him you might have lingered longer on.

Another thing: I don't see what poeteye sees as a tongue twister; rather, it reads "wide awake", exactly like what the "lusty serenade" looks for, as outcome. Each word in this must be pronounced and articulated with more emphasis than it ordinarily has. You've picked language that can't be slurred, that must be declaimed, and that's the exciting part of this villanelle.

Thank you for persisting in this monumental endeavour, Pen. Two more left to go? Or have you decided to stop?

Lucie

( Posted by: windchime [Member] On: August 11, 2008 )

Mark/Lucie
Mark - Hello again! Thanks for popping by and hope all is well with you and yours.
Lucie - I rather like the ... um ... superficial[?] nature of this rooster. What created the biggest problem with the writing of this villanelle is trying to avoid my favourite word for this bird. I'm not sure why I didn't want to use it but I managed to succeed.
I get what you mean about the lack of connections/character but don't agree. Maybe I know one too many 'roosters'?

Will I complete the set of villanelles? Of course. I've just been on a writing hiatus due to commingling chaos on the home front. That issue has FINALLY been dealt with.

Then there was the urgent trip to London to deal with long distance family issues.

AND - there is the winding down of my employment which looms on my horizon.

Needless to say - but I will - thank you Lucie for your fabulous comment. Always appreciated.

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: August 24, 2008 )





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