RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEATH PENALTY
Cruel and Unusual
In times past a king executed a human
being with the wave of his hand
Beheading
Hanging
Stoning
A firing line
A king, a queen, an emperor, a commander
gave the order and the executor executed
It was common though it was cruel
Today we subject the accused to a trial
that can take months or years
To an appeals process that takes decades
And an execution that drags on and on
in finding a method of killing that is
something less than horrific
Electrocution
Chemical injection
The gas chamber
Hanging or firing line
It is no longer common
but it is cruel beyond belief
If we make cruelty common
it is no longer unconstitutional
but it remains unconscionable
immoral and devoid of humanity
We are experimenting with death
Manipulating methods of taking life
until we find one that masks its
inherent cruelty
Our nation and culture can never be
civilized until we ban this barbaric practice
Every individual who supports the death
penalty should be forced to watch an
execution in real time
The dying of the light is common
The taking of the light is cruel
The state should have no right
Let mercy be the rule
