Experiments with forms – my attempt at a villanelle.
The head can be an unhelpful halt bringer,
It keeps you stuck with the seeds of doubt
And the thoughts you’ll mess things up that always linger.
Yet your stasis also puts you through the wringer
By making the quietest task seem like a shout.
The head can be an unhelpful halt bringer.
Sometimes you need to give doubt the middle finger,
Or else your screw up will be in the doing nowt,
And the thoughts you’ve messed things up will always linger.
Maybe the best you can do now is small and ginger.
It can be hard to start things up at a full clout.
The head can be an unhelpful halt bringer.
Even as you know inaction would be to self-injure,
Discomfort’s safety is where you often chose to sit things out
Because the thoughts you’ll mess things up they always linger.
But relief is there coiled and ready for a springer,
A release that comes from not putting off but setting out.
The head can be an unhelpful halt bringer,
A halt that gives your catastrophising thoughts a place to linger.
Hannah Going
September 2025
Hannah Going - Concerns 