Villanelle with a Line Borrowed from Bishop

The child looks out the window at the peeling barn.
The mother sits on the roof and waves at her.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove.

The child has put away her Little Marvel Stove
because her grandmother is baking real bread.
The child looks out the window at the peeling barn.

The two inside are preparing dinner for three.
(If the mother comes down from the roof.)
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove

a song about some mother on some roof
(likely the mother that is her daughter).
The child looks out the window at the peeling barn.

The child hums along while she stands
to survey her reeling barn and to hear as
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove.

She’s drawn at least half a dozen barns today.
She stops humming and sings her own song.
She looks at her mother atop the peeling barn while
the grandmother sings to marvel the stove.

Notes: This piece is part of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize portfolio in the October 2023 issue.

Source: Poetry (October 2023)