Contoured villanelle using Marilyn Krysl’s “Villanelle with Violin”
As a child, I assumed adults were never afraid.
I was intrigued by the dark and amused by the light.
I now know there are debts that can never be paid.
In my childhood, I recall my parents prayed—
perhaps that I would always pursue the light.
I never assumed that my parents were afraid
that I'd become the sum of all the choices they made.
Life isn't black and white nor ruled by dark or light.
Do children know or owe parents for debts they paid?
Parents whisper then yell about mistakes they made,
times they were intrigued by dark, bemused by light,
leaving them to wonder if they should be afraid.
We are left with mistakes our parents made,
horrified by how far they have swung right,
while leaving us with debt that must be paid.
Our parents’ choices will cause democracy to fade
into the drowning dark, our lungs gasping for light.
This administration’s moral debt can never be paid.
Yet now, somehow, my parents are not afraid.