When the forsaken city starts to burn,
after the men and children have fled,
stand still, silent as prey, and slowly turn
back. Behold the curse. Stay and mourn
the collapsing doorways, the unbroken bread
in the forsaken city starting to burn.
Don't flinch. Don't join in.
Resist the righteous scurry and instead
stand still, silent as prey. Slowly turn
your thoughts away from escape: the iron
gates unlatched, the responsibilities shed.
When the forsaken city starts to burn,
surrender to your calling, show concern
for those who remain. Come to a dead
standstill. Silent as prey, slowly turn
into something essential. Learn
the names of the fallen. Refuse to run ahead
when the forsaken city starts to burn.
Stand still and silent. Pray. Return.
■
Hello Friends,
One of the hardest poetic forms to write is the villanelle, and today's poem by Deborah Paredez is an absolute mastery of that form. Notice that the entire poem uses only two rhyme sounds, and that the first and third lines of the first stanza are refrains that repeat as the last lines of alternating stanzas throughout the poem. But a really good villanelle like Paredez's doesn't give you a hint of just how hard it is to write; it flows effortlessly.
Paredez certainly invokes the biblical character identified only as Lot's wife, who turns into a pillar of salt when she ignores an angel's command not to look back over her shoulder at the city they are leaving behind as they flee. However, what I love about this poem is that its female gaze on disaster could as easily be about a woman fleeing Aleppo in 2016 as it is about a woman fleeing Sodom in biblical times — it has that level of timeless quality about it.
"Wife's Disaster Manual" appeared in the September 2012 issue of Poetry Magazine. Villanelles have also been featured for Poem-A-Day April 14, 2016 and Poem-A-Day April 6, 2008. You can read more about the villanelle form here.
Enjoy.
Ellen