Hate the Villanelle - They Might Be Giants

Don’t hate the villain!

Hate the villanelle

With these picky rules and odd jigsaw rhymes

Curses!

These verses are my prison cell

At school I ran from the very first bell

The teacher’s ruler, those maddening chimes

Don’t hate the villain!

Hate the villanelle!

Joking in class.

Oh!

The words I misspell

Mumbles and stammers but are those real crimes?

Curses!

These verses are my prison cell

If someone could hear, for someone to tell

But friends have all fled to far away climes

Don’t hate the villain!

Hate the villanelle

I solve this puzzle but tumble through hell

These words are fractions when I needed primes

Curses!

These verses are my prison cell

My hands disappear as I wave farewell

This gentle quicksand turns into hard times

Don’t hate the villain!

Hate the villanelle

Curses!

These verses are my prison cell