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Cote a Cote: Free Verse Poems and Their Villanelle Companions emerges from my deepening fascination with the villanelle form. This collection presents pairs of poems side by side-the original free verse creations alongside their metamorphosis into the structured embrace of the villanelle. The villanelle, with its intricate architecture of nineteen lines arranged in five tercets and a concluding quatrain, offers a beautiful challenge. Its distinctive pattern-where the first line returns in lines six, twelve, and eighteen, while the third line echoes in lines nine, fifteen, and nineteen-creates a mesmerizing dance of repetition and rhythm. Within these constraints, I sought to preserve the essential spirit of each free verse original while allowing new resonances to emerge through form. Each pairing in this collection represents a journey of transformation. Like children born of the same heart but expressing themselves in different voices, these companion poems share DNA yet reveal distinct personalities. They are living creations, nurtured with care and released into the world with love. It is my hope that reading these poems side by side-cote a cote-offers you both pleasure and insight. Perhaps you'll discover how the same emotional truth can inhabit different poetic bodies, how meaning shifts and deepens when filtered through tradition, or simply find joy in experiencing two variations on a single theme. I invite you to move between these paired poems freely, to hear their harmonies and dissonances, and to find your own connections in the space between free expression and formal discipline.
