Penalty

BACK

(written during the Tim McVie trial)

Too many people died today,
And the day before.
We haven't stopped the battles.
We already lost the war.

At a hopeless stand still,
The statesman are at a loss.
They cannot curb the killing,
Nor justify the costs.

The cry goes out for blood,
As a crowd gathers near.
No more nights of worry,please.
No more days of fear.

We don't remember names,
But we know all the faces.
We know what they did,
The how and why in all the cases.

The time is now, they say,
To cure us of these ills.
The solution is to take their life,
Kill anyone who kills.

We put them on the block,
We hung them from a tree.
With gas, drugs, electric chair,
They payed the penalty.

When the deed is done,
Then the cries may cease.
Still the war is lost,
And murder rates increase.
 

                   --T.F. Ragsdale