Last night I watched a man have his throat cut.
I know not what was his crime or error.
I know only of the terrible screams,
and the awful moans of pain and panic.
I am ignorant of any offense
of which this man may have been found guilty.
I know only of the brutality
of the men that, in the name of justice,
committed this act of foul savagery.
I wondered secretly: “had this poor man,
his throat wide open and spilling his blood
across the accursed and unhallowed floor,
truly lived his life by the sword? ” - or was -
this just another example of our
impious thirst for erroneous law?
Copyright (C) MMIV (2004)
Derek R. Audette
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-execution-of-an-ambiguous-enemy/
