The Daily Poem Poetry Collection

Homecoming

Homecoming

“A clever boy!” with contempt said.
An easy target for their slight.
Beneath his laughter, they lay dead.

Homecoming filled his mind with dread.
The gym, festooned with banners bright.
“A clever boy!” with contempt said.

Bullied and oft’ called “in-bred”
He had a plan, that fateful night.
Beneath his laughter, they lay dead.

At the dance, their laughter spread.
Unknowingly they sealed their plight.
“A clever boy!” with contempt said.

Thick glasses perched upon his head
he grasped the weapon, knuckles white.
Beneath his laughter, they lay dead.

Chaperones and students pled
as they ran in anxious flight.
“A clever boy!” That’s what they said.
Beneath his laughter, they lay dead.

An entry for the October 3d round of "The Daily Poem" 
Form: A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme: A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2. The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order [as the third line of each stanza] throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).
Required Words: gymnasium, chaperone, anxious, and clever.
Line Limit: 200
Line Count: 19