“To maim and destroy the body of a man is no deed of recognition for valor, whether in war or in revenge, but to save a body which is the temple of the soul is an act and deed of the God-like.” Author unknown

 

I wonder abut their pain

Their frustration

Their anger

I wonder of their hopes

And whether the desire to see my last breath

Surmounts all else that they hope for

I wonder if they pray for closer

To what gods do they ask of my life?

What do they wish of my soul?

I wonder…

If they knew me, if they only knew me

Seven acres plump

With depressed, dead and dying men

Here we have learned to live and love

If you could lie behind my eyelids and listen

To shackle men shuffle by

On their way to the executioner

If you could see relief flooding my wife and kid’s faces

When I step into visitation and

They’re reassured I’m alive

I wonder if you still want me dead

I wonder if you knew

I want to live

That I’ve demonstrated

Broken rules trying to preserve my

Human right to life

Would my death still be your number one priority?

I’ve grown

I write poetry

Read

I know my history

I cherish my life

I cry when people die

(And many people have died)

I know what love is

Pain is

Anger is

I know what you think of me

I know that you wait for me to growl and

Rattle my cage like the animal I’m portrayed

To be

But I’m human

Is it wrong for me to change?

To love?

To want to live?

I was a child

I became a man in prison

A man imprisoned for a crime I did not commit

But my history is your enemy still

And vengeance is your only salvation

But I wonder…

If you settle your heart and just

Thought critically for a minute

I wonder if you’d still want me dead

You may wash your hands

In my blood

But will that cleanse your slate of anguish?

Who prescribed death as a balm for your wounded heart?

I am a mother’s child

A loving father and husband

How can killing me make you feel better?

How does killing me differ from

Killing in general?

No matter that I’ve grown

I love life

That I’m a man

A father

A husband

I care

I hurt

My wife and children hurt

I’m human

Nothing matters – your mind is set

Yet I wonder on occasions….

If you could taste my grandmother’s cooking

See my wife and kids smile. Hear their laughter

See me smile, smell my hear or

Touch my skin and know who I am

I wonder…

Would you still want me dead?