Villanelle Variations: (old) Old Age Rage (and new) A Voting Gauge
‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’
By Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1951
Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightening, they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deed might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
‘Use the booth or write in your vote today’
By Tinian Poet Laureate, Joey Connolly, 02/26/2024
Use the booth or write in your vote today
Do not let the fear of his vitriol bite
Keep the demagogic candidate at bay
Pay no heed to all the lies he will say
Or fears from Republicans on the right
Use the booth or write in your vote today
His indictments are a judicial X-ray
$500 million in fines are now his plight
Keep the demagogic candidate at bay
Drive or walk down, don’t get feet of clay
Keep democracy always in your sight
Use the booth or write in your vote today
Stay away from the ‘fear of voting’ fray
Know that Power Pac might doesn’t make right
Keep the demagogic candidate at bay
So please without any further delay
Get there before all the polls close tonight
Use the booth or write in your vote today
Keep the demagogic candidate at bay.
Joey aka “Pepe Batbon” Connolly is a retired educator who taught in the CNMI, NOLA, and LVNV. He is the Poet Laureate of Tinian and enjoys stargazing.
