Dead Man Hanging

There's a dead man hanging near the chapel wall, from a rope tied around his neck. They say he got what he deserved, his life was such a wreck. He took a life that was not his despite the consequence. They caught the guy red-handed though he denied it then and hence. The judge laid down his gavel when the jury spoke their sights. It wasn't long thereafter that the preacher gave last rights. The choir sang, the people cheered, a father wept with joy; found comfort for his anger, though it won't bring back his boy. The man was put up on a stump for all the town to see, and as the flaxen chord was drawn I saw him look at me. His hollow eyes and empty soul revealed a hardened man, and gave me pause to wonder when this tragedy began. He could have blamed his mother or the bully at his school. He could have blamed most anyone believing such a fool. Regardless of the reasons that a dying man would give, the reason he is dead today is how he chose to live.