See to it that this letter be remembered as your rhyme

See to it that this letter be remembered as your rhyme;

Tho you disparage his pretensions with prose,  

Laughing at love for the stranger smacked of his find.

A lady should fancy this Southern man spinning his time

Into words of courtship forged from tender hopes:

See to it that this letter be remembered as your rhyme.

A Philly’s radiant beauty, auburn hair, eyes sublime

Reflect candles, slow dance and something suddenly bellows,

Laughing at love for the stranger smacked of his find.

When he writes a silly poem with clichés it’s a crime?

If the jaded heart can’t accept a single musk rose

See to it that this letter be remembered as your rhyme.

Maple trees cast leaves across shingles bore with heart pine,

Inside she reclines, giving her best Hepburn repose,

Laughing at love for the stranger smacked of his find.

This season rises to go but your darling waits his time

For tender nights when fears no longer bind. 

See to it that this letter be remembered as your rhyme,

Laughing at love for the stranger smacked of his find.

Villanelle for Liesel Tarquin

October 22, 2006