Member-only story

Dressing Old Words New — a poem of remixing

A Villanelle inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 76

Esther Spurrill-Jones
The Word Artist

--

A old fashioned pharmacy with a shelf of labeled glass bottles. A pharmacist is pouring something from one bottle into a smaller glass flask.
Image by juanwa from Pixabay

I borrow words from others without shame:
I take a bit from there, a dab from here,
Yet every word does almost tell my name.

I dress old words anew, and I reclaim
The hymns and songs that used to bring me fear.
I borrow words from others without shame.

For when I set the words inside my frame
Each poem is a mirror bright and clear,
And every word does almost tell my name.

I find new meaning in the same old same
By mixing pieces in a process queer
And borrowing from others without shame.

I pillage ancient coffers; I lay claim
To Dickinson and Blake and to Shakespeare,
Yet every word does almost tell my name.

Composing new from old is quite a game,
And this one is a remixed poem right here.
I borrow words from others without shame,
Yet every word does almost tell my name.

--

--

The Word Artist
The Word Artist

Published in The Word Artist

Words have always been my art. They dance for me and sing for me. They laugh for me and cry for me. They are my paint and brushes. They are my clay.

Responses (3)