Umbrella Villanelle


from the ABC set Not All of Us Are Godlike Superbeings

I wish, somehow, you'd taken the umbrella
It's close again; the rain is warm and sweet
And if you had, the coffee would taste better

I know it wouldn't hold against the weather
in New Orleans - the hurricanes and heat
but I wish, somehow, you'd taken the umbrella

It couldn't shield you, like some space defender,
from attack ships, when the game decides to cheat
Still, if you had, the coffee would taste better

You're bound for more frontiers than Barbarella
And though you're cannier, more fun, more fleet
I really wish you'd taken the umbrella

Just taken it, with one swift, sanguine gesture
Like I take your legs sometimes, petite
If you had, the coffee would taste better

Better than a hot, black fog. A pleasure,
not the ghost of one that lingers incomplete
I wish, somehow, you'd taken the umbrella
If you had, the coffee would taste better

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