View Single Post
  #5  
Unread 04-18-2025, 11:50 AM
Susan McLean Susan McLean is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Iowa City, IA, USA
Posts: 10,400
Default

Hi, Alex,
I agree with most of what Julie said, especially about "gnome" and "tome." In a tightly rhymed form like the villanelle, exact rhymes that seem a bad fit for the context are likely to seem chosen for the rhyme. I think you do better with slant rhymes like "bomb" and "tomb." The problem with absurdist content in a tight form is that it feels more like an exercise than an attempt at communicating anything. I was interested in the premise of a date at a funeral home, which seemed to have opportunities for humor or awkwardness, but I don't think the poem delivered on what I was hoping for. Maybe you intended something else.

Susan
Reply With Quote