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The Cost of a Human Life
The Cost of a Human Life
I sat as an observer
in a state’s superior court.
First-degree murder was the charge.
Cold blooded calculated murder was the act.
One teen on a sleepover was beaten to death
from behind with an aluminum baseball bat.
The teen pled guilty and the sentence
before final plea bargaining was two years.
The mourning wail of the dead teen’s mother
rose far beyond the failing plastered court ceiling.
What is two years?
two visits to the CPA to pay taxes
twelve tire rotations
two World Series
four dental cleanings
two spring plantings
how long I have procrastinated
sweeping out the garage
twenty car washes
two work performance evaluations
for one human life.
I sat as a witness
in a state’s superior court
as part of society
guilty.
Copyright ©
Michael Shoemaker
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