Justice? (a villanelle)

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.