the bones are the first to know,
they hum a low dirge,
like a bass line in a dying bar,
deep under the skin’s slow retreat.
blood stumbles in the corridors,
loses its way in the veins,
tries to remember where it used to go.
the heart?
it forgets the beat,
like a drunk forgetting the name
of the woman he once begged for.
lungs collapse like cheap umbrellas,
breath rattles in
like pennies in a tin cup—
a wheeze, a whisper,
then nothing but
a waiting room silence.
and the soul,
if there is one,
it slips out the back
like it owes them all back rent.
A double murderer
Shot before a firing squad
Justice or revenge?
An eye for an eye
So, the old law book conveys
Punishment for sin
Society’s way
To rid town square of wrongs
Yet, death row awaits
The hangman stands by
The masses don’t know his name
Pulls the trap door latch
The cycle repeats
With no real decrease in crime
No one ever wins
Justice will make deals
With the guilty to win cases
Takes her blindfold off
Death for some killers
Others given terms or pleas
For the same offense
Lex talionis
The law of retaliation
Not meted out fairly
Why oh why not commit suicide
Rather than unalive other people
There is a blackness in a heart
To do such a thing for any reason
Of course one must be disturbed
But that seems like a whimsical word
For such a despicable human
Old enough to premeditate murder
A photo and we see skin hair eyes
Blessed to appear normal outside
But the inner spirit surely soured
To pick up a gun and execute for power
You may say suicide is a sin
I say kill self rather than others
Since you feel so divine and inclined
Ready to meet your maker
No one wants to die how you kill
And sit in prison for years you will
Soak up time your victims lost
While death penalty is likely tossed
Because you are saved by grace
You didn’t give
Ironic
shedders shards hover
if there is not a purpose~
life has no meaning
limb amputation
your life left in a child's hand~
a burden you are
soul shattered remains,
where did eternal love go~
death it does seek
Pretending a pregnancy,
Killed a pregnant lady;
Carved out baby for her own;
Child now 16; killer was executed Tuesday.
Thursday011421PSCtest, 20-word max-do it with feeling,
Line Gauthier, sponsor. 4P
Death Penalty
Sonny Johnson’s home was on the street
Sharing space with rats who nibbled at his feet
Until he moved his blanket to the county jail
‘Cause someone said he stabbed a white female
He faced the court without a scrap of money
So no lawyer of renown defended Sonny
A jury found him guilty in two hours
And no one wondered if the fault was his or ours
No delays or stays of execution
How sweet they are, revenge and retribution
A pork chop and beans sat cooling in a bowl
While a portly priest sanctified Sonny’s soul
They strapped him to a gurney hard and fast
Two witnesses looked away, eyes downcast
Beads of sweat on Sonny’s forehead glistened
“Ain’t done the deed; how come y’all don’t listen?”
Sonny shuddered once before his heart stopped beating
Nary a soul mourned his tragic life so fleeting
With other poor men, they put him in the ground
And no stone marker graced his burial mound
Sonny’s fate isn’t hard to justify
The Holy Book supports an eye for an eye
Does anyone care how many men are taken
With the chilling chance that we may be mistaken?
I was good,
You turned me bad,
We hijacked her,
I was caught
I was taken and locked up,
You were still free,
I hate you for this life I live now,
In fear knowing I’ll die,
I stood by you while you killed her,
You murderer,
You monster,
I get blamed, and you go free,
I say this is not fair.
My day is today,
I chose lethal injection,
Cuz you injected me with badness,
I realize that now,
How could you go free, without any regrets?
Do you feel anything?
I won’t be able to in a few minutes.
My day and time has come,
Be aware my last words, will be where they can find you.
I’m a little firework
Halfway towards the sky
That’s burnt out to dust
Into nothingness
And now I have to die.
I was a crow, flying through a tree
Tried to slalom through the branches.
The thorns clipped my wings
Here the handcuffs cling
Because of my murderous advances.
I’m a crooked atheist
I don’t believe in hell
Or in a Summa Bonum
Or in heaven, like some.
Once the needle goes in, I’ll tell.
“I am not afraid of death,
I’m glad you didn’t postpone a day
To cause my body to wilt
To remove me of guilt
and to let me get away.”