This is a villanelle, a French verse form consisting of five tercets and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas. These two refrain lines form the final couplet in the quatrain. The repetitive aspect of the villanelle seemed to lend itself to this particular subject.
THE INTERROGATION
Tell us the truth and we will set you free,
without unpleasantness, you understand.
You are our guest and not a detainee.
Your wife will not be harmed, I guarantee.
Your family? We have them close to hand.
Tell us the truth and we will set you free.
These instruments are sharp, you will agree?
Such brutal methods are not what was planned.
You are our guest and not a detainee.
Pain can persuade. Persistence is the key.
Even the strongest soon will be unmanned.
Tell us the truth and we will set you free.
Fingernails first, then teeth and, by degree,
we will discover what you can withstand.
You are our guest and not a detainee.
You are invisible. Only I see
the bloodied fingers on each broken hand.
Tell us the truth and we will set you free.
You are our guest and not a detainee.
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