The Old Villager - A Villanelle Poem by Sandra Martyres

She cowered each time the old man appeared.
Although the geezer seemed innocuous,
He looked unkempt and his habits were weird.

To ensure that all her daily tasks were cleared,
The wall clock's ticking was meticulous.
She cowered each time the old man appeared.

In a large family she had been reared,
Whose rules, she thought, were quite ridiculous.
He looked unkempt and his habits were weird.

When he lit his pipe and singed his beard,
He began to look even more hideous.
She cowered each time the old man appeared,

But in the village elders were revered,
So to his ways they were impervious.
He looked unkempt and his habits were weird.

To village etiquette she had deferred,
Though she found their behaviour curious.
She cowered each time the old man appeared,
He looked unkempt and his habits were weird.