Weep cold tears upon the earth while
dark clouds hang heavy
the sun struggles to smile.
Death fills the streets like yellow bile
maimed and broken bodies fall as we
weep cold tears upon the earth while
in the aftermath anger and fear compile.
as innocents stand dazed in shock
the sun struggles to smile.
Now in life’s final mile
they scream out in agony
weep cold tears upon the earth while
an invisible enemy so hostile
leaves only confusion and disillusionment as
the sun struggles to smile.
We call out for justice that we now defile
for there is none when all we can do is
weep cold tears upon the earth while
the sun struggles to smile.
A villanelle (also known as villanesque) is a nineteen-line form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain. There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with the first and third line of the first tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza, which includes both repeated lines.
A villanelle has only two rhyme sounds. The first and third lines of the first stanza are rhyming refrains that alternate as the third line in each successive stanza and form a couplet at the close.