Villanelle. — (To M. Joseph Boulmier, Author of “Les Villanelles.”)
Villanelle, why art thou mute?
Hath the singer ceased to sing?
Hath the Master lost his lute?
Many a pipe and scrannel flute
On the breeze their discords fling;
Villanelle, why art thou mute?
Sound of tumult or dispute,
Noise of war the echoes bring;
Hath the Master lost his lute?
Once he sang of bud and shoot
In the season of the Spring;
Villanelle, why art thou mute?
Fading leaf and falling fruit
Say, “The year is on the wing,
Hath the Master lost his lute?”
Ere the axe lies at the root,
Ere the winter comes as king,
Villanelle, why art thou mute?
Hath the Master lost his lute!
Andrew Lang.