End Villanelle

by Dick Allen

Time to steal away. Time to jettison
old dreams, old schemes, ballast kept too long,
to furl the sails and anchor in Oblivion.

Goodbye to each day patch-worked by the sun,
to star-crossed nights, to frills and spills of song.
Time to steal away. Time to jettison

everything you were. Flesh-wrapped skeleton,
who but a fool continues too headstrong
to furl the sails and anchor in Oblivion.

Loosen and relinquish now. Abandon
island kingdoms, rights you watched go wrong.
Time to steal away. Time to jettison

sawdust smell and taste of cinnamon,
rope and plank and bunk and supper gong,
to furl the sails and anchor in Oblivion.

May the winds die down. What you’ve done
Might or might not lift you from the throng.
Time to steal away. Time to jettison,
to furl the sails and anchor in Oblivion.


CCPL is a group of state and local poets laureate in Connecticut.
The mission of the Connecticut Council of Poets Laureate (CCPL) is to promote the enjoyment of poetry and be a resource for communities.