Villanelle for Justice

For Indira Kartallozi

She rages against the fading of light,

Making the world less bitter, less dark:

Her moonlit passion shines out in the night.

When shadows are growing to ominous height;

When justice corrodes and leaves acid marks:

She rages against the fading of light.

Each time that she finds a victim in plight,

She looks for a flash of luminous arc:

Her moonlit passion shines out in the night.

When tyrants defend their merciless right;

When gaps still get wider, contrasts more stark:

She rages against the fading of light.

In stormy dark seas where money is might;

Where bankers and landlords feed like a shark:

Her moonlit passion shines out in the night.

Her fire gives me wings, her love gives me flight,

And helps me to face my fears of the dark:

She rages against the fading of light,

Her moonlit passion shines out in the night.