Villanelle · Funny
Villanelle of the Missing Sock
1I put in two. I took out just one sock.
2I've searched the lint trap, and behind the dryer.
3Somewhere, a sock is laughing at the clock.
4I've questioned every shirt. I've checked the lock.
5The towels deny it. Each one is a liar.
6I put in two. I took out just one sock.
7Perhaps it ran away to join a flock
8of single gloves and lids that never tire.
9Somewhere, a sock is laughing at the clock.
10I bought a pack of twelve. I'm out of stock
11by Friday, and the odds are getting higher:
12I put in two. I took out just one sock.
Original poem © QuillOak — personal sharing is permitted.
“Villanelle of the Missing Sock” by The QuillOak Editors — quilloak.com/poems/villanelle-of-the-missing-sock
Quick facts
- Poem
- Villanelle of the Missing Sock
- Poet
- The QuillOak Editors
- Length
- 19 lines
- Form
- Villanelle
- Themes
- Funny
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 19 lines · 6 stanzas of 3–4 lines
- End rhyme
- ABA in 83% of the stanzas — terza rima opening. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Lines run 10-12 syllables (median 10), consistent with pentameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
- Refrains
- “I put in two. I took out just one sock.”“Somewhere, a sock is laughing at the clock.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a villanelle, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Original QuillOak text. Personal sharing is permitted; other reuse requires permission.
- Author record
- The QuillOak Editorstoday
- Source record
- QuillOak originalVillanelle of the Missing Sock, authored for QuillOak by The Quillery
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- Not recorded in the imported source
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 f5ab63cf0f010802…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.