Painting by Tomás Yepes‘Thorns Grow with Song’ by Maura H. Harrison The Society January 9, 2023 Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle 6 Comments . Thorns Grow with Song It’s time to rend our hearts and look inside The chambered will, into the voices in The vein: thorns grow with song. A hope applied With mercy calls the tuner of the tidal Pull of the soul, brings rest, denying sin It’s time. To rend our hearts and look inside Reveals a bramble, canes of prickly pride That strangle sacrifice, and so, within, The vain thorns grow. With song, a hope applied Again, small notes of spring erupt and chide The choking vine. They scourge the ego’s skin. It’s time to rend our hearts and look. Inside We need to file the points where barbs collide, To cauterize, to stem the blood and pin The vein. Thorns grow. With song, a hope. Applied Again, confessed again, relief supplied In more small notes, repentances begin. It’s time to rend our hearts and look inside The vein: thorns grow with song, a hope applied. . . Maura H. Harrison is a poetry student in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at the University of St. Thomas. She lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 6 Responses Morrison Handley-Schachler January 9, 2023 A very charming poet, Maura, with a lot of reflection on hope and humility. I like the use of the same words repeatedly with different punctuation and sentence structure. Reply Maura Harrison January 9, 2023 Thank you! Reply C.B. Anderson January 10, 2023 Changing punctuation to modify the rhetorical effect of the repetends is how one keeps a villanelle from being mechanically repetitive. Reply Paul Buchheit January 9, 2023 Beautiful villanelle, Maura. I like the variations in punctuation in the key lines. Reply Maura Harrison January 9, 2023 Paul, Thank you! Reply Roy Eugene Peterson January 10, 2023 Maura, I especially like the interplay between “vain” and “vein,” an inspired interlocutory pairing. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Morrison Handley-Schachler January 9, 2023 A very charming poet, Maura, with a lot of reflection on hope and humility. I like the use of the same words repeatedly with different punctuation and sentence structure. Reply
C.B. Anderson January 10, 2023 Changing punctuation to modify the rhetorical effect of the repetends is how one keeps a villanelle from being mechanically repetitive. Reply
Paul Buchheit January 9, 2023 Beautiful villanelle, Maura. I like the variations in punctuation in the key lines. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson January 10, 2023 Maura, I especially like the interplay between “vain” and “vein,” an inspired interlocutory pairing. Reply
