Roxanne Hoffman

Joan

Bedeviled by God’s whisperings,
She must atone!
Let go the constant flap and flutterings;
Hush the beating of the angel wings.
We won’t condone!
Her revelry, her mutterings!
She shall be shown:
Such devilry must be thrown,
Away!
These voices are her own.
Let’s kneel before the Lord and pray,
That she will see the light of day.
She is but flesh and bone.S
he will obey!
She is but flesh and bone.

Note: The form is French Virelay from the French virer,
"to turn or veer", a medieval French poetic form.
The poem is meant to be chanted or sung twice and has
interleaving or chain rhyme scheme
(a b a b ba b a a c a c c a c a) with lines of varying length.
The title is the 1st line of the poem.

Grant Me Three
Wishes Like a Djinn

Each moon full night I lay in wait
Anticipate your tenderness
Unlock the doors, unlatch the gate
The sun still setting in the west
In hope that you will wander in
Grant me three wishes like a djinn

I long for you to reappear
I close my eyes and hold my breath
Dark silhouette behind drawn sheers
The moon ascending to its crest
The rustle of your crinoline cape
Your lips pressed wet upon my nape

I quiver at your slightest touch
Your fingers float across my face
With probing tongues we clasp and clutch
Hearts skip a beat and start to race
I softly moan until released
Drift Milky Way in happy peace.

To wake up lone to find you gone
Less lucid by the bright of day
The sky resplendent with the dawn
I kneel before the sun and pray
That someday soon
You’ll wake with me
Where full moons never wane

Note: Variation of Spanish Sextilla, six-line stanzas
of eight-syllable lines rhymed either
aabccb or ababcc (in this case ababcc).