In from Adrien, a villanelle she wrote in November

Adrien Helm

Caravan (another lumpy villanelle)

To the North, seeking asylum they pad

In flip flops and rope soled huaraches

To a nation now controlled by the mad.

No safety from gangs at home to be had

Families treated like cucurachas --

To the North seeking asylum they pad.

Between murderous and awful and bad

Fleeing villages poor and dangerous

To a nation now controlled by the mad

Their faces unspeakably weary, sad,

Children carried, a burden most precious.

To the North seeking asylum they pad.

A desperate thousand mile walk they’ve had,

Rumors swirl of reception perilous,

To a nation now controlled by the mad.

Is there any hope for them to be had?

Trapped between Scylla and Charybdis?

To the North seeking asylum they pad

To a nation now controlled by the mad.

                                                                       

                                                    November 2018

*****************

blogger's helpful note, lifted from Wikipedia:

Henry Fuseli's painting of Odysseus facing the choice between Scylla and Charybdis, 1794/6

Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology, meaning "having to choose between two evils". Several other idioms, such as "on the horns of a dilemma", "between the devil and the deep blue sea", and "between a rock and a hard place" express similar meanings.