Abracadabra

If written right and uttered well
By someone with the proper skill, 
A formal poem is like a spell. 

Take the winding villanelle, 
Which conjures spirits good and ill 
If written right and uttered well: 

As when they’re rung correctly, bells 
Can summon, sadden, warn, or thrill,
A formal poem is like a spell 

For working magic fair and fell;
And there is little doubt it will, 
If written right and uttered well. 

Like fortunes only time will tell,
It may take many years until
A formal poem is like a spell.

So if it doesn’t work, don’t kill
The messenger; remind yourself:
If written right and uttered well, 
A formal poem is like a spell.