To Jackie - Upon Lying

Hark! These four stone walls of Mamertine quell My caged heart's protest; its sullen lament, That one should take another's life in hand; Raise their one dream before their very eyes And crush it in an ironclad, clenched fist. And for what cause? Unmerited Justice? Gratuitous equity from envy? Hark! Though I have not dealt you those blows You assert; I make wounds, to you obscure. For I could write a thousand times, bitter; One's ineffectual stance on knowledge; One's impotence in the skill of the tongue To lash one's mind those thirty-nine lashes. With each tap of that gavel I spite you; Insolent, Dishonest, and treacherous. I stand you before the world, unbeknownst, Guilty of vile sins; a friendship defiled. I strike your ego and your character; Assault your visage with an honest word; Cause scars you cannot see but cannot hide. And when that day of judgement dawns for you; The world will laugh at your deficient stride.