Villanelle 2

Madness

It is not her blood that is on my hands!
(His madness creeps in while he sleeps.)
He cannot keep with her demands

She batters him, he misunderstands.
(His madness creeps in as he weeps.)
It is not her blood that is on my hands!

Her pearls now loose from broken strands
(His madness creeps in glorious sweeps.)
He cannot keep with her demands.

Others see the agony he withstands
(His madness creeps in rather deep.)
It is not her blood that is on my hands!

Midnight he can still hear her commands.
(His madness creeps and then it keeps.)
He cannot keep with her demands.

Around her neck he tied the silken bands
(His madness creeps, his mind – it leaps.)
It is not her blood that is on my hands!
He cannot keep with her demands.