LPiA Nov20

[dukealien]

Disappointing


What a tangled web, a trial
that all attorneys work their hardest
to avoid
each trying to conceal his plans
to reveal at proper and
improper moments
and a judge who’d rather not
be there either.

Pity juries who expect
drama as from movies, television
and the stage
which all other actors in the court
try to prevent

drama which occurs
only “in chambers” where
what a jury is allowed to see
is scripted to a nicety.

Pity, ah, pity jurors
waiting for a witness to break down
on the stand, surprising revelations
and unexpected guilt revealed
along with information showing
that the victim was a louse.

And pity nations locked into
this compromised and compromising system
which like democracy
is palpably worst
except for all the others
because like a blind hound it
occasionally finds the truth.