Friday 20 November 2009

A Case of Mistaken Identity

My lovely twin, Julia Williams, tweeted about this very common problem today. So I thought it apt to post this poem. It started life as a sonnet, and I'm inclined to agree with my tutor, probably should have stayed that way. But to meet the mad structure I set myself on assignment, it's become a villanelle, and I can't be bothered to turn it back...

Shall I forgive you? It happens quite a lot-
a stranger greets me in the street, or on a bus -
it causes confusion more often than not.

Did you suffer from such a delusion? What
were you thinking? That I wouldn't make a fuss?
Should I forgive you, since it happens a lot?

Perhaps you understood at first - but then forgot
alike was not the same - that there are two of us.
I know it's confusing, more often than not.

Suppose I tried again? Gave you another shot?
Perhaps, after all, I've been making too much fuss.
Could I forgive you, since it happens such a lot?

It’s not surprising, really, that you’ve lost the plot.
You're not the first to be bemused by two of us.
It can be confusing, more often than not.

Maybe, after all, I’ve been making too much fuss.
And...if I can absolve the person on the bus,
surely, I can forgive you? It happens such a lot -
causing confusion more often than not.

 
 
Coming soon on Plug of the Month - Julia Williams - Last Christmas - currently doing rather well in the bookshops.

No comments: