A Villanelle For Wives Poem by William B. Watterson

Do not let throbbing love subside tonight,
Strong passions crave release before the day,
Make haste against the breaking of the light.

New wives may hold their feelings back in fright
And cringe while trying desperately to say,
Do not let throbbing love subside tonight.

Shy wives, ironic victims of love's plight,
Wait long, and then, sad lovers in the fray,
Make haste against the breaking of the light.

Base wives will sever nuptial vows for spite.
With baser lovers then consorting, they
Do not let throbbing love subside tonight.

Old wives through slow neglect of amorous might
May lose their mates, for few companions gray
Make haste against the breaking of the light.

But you, my fairest darling of delight,
Let not this magic pass, make no delay.
Do not let throbbing love subside tonight,
Make haste against the breaking of the light.