MAY DAY, 2011
FLASHBACK: THE WILD WEST
No, said Jackie,
In her blood-caked pink suit,
I shall go as I am.
Let them see what they've done.
BREAKING NEWS: THE EMERALD CITY
No, pronounced Barack, from the big white house,
And, over and over, justice has been done.
They don't need to see. There will be no pictures.
Justice has been done.
NO TRIAL: A TAXPAYER'S QUESTIONS
But the old man was unarmed.
So, why not captured -- put to a public trial?
To honor all we hold dear,
For the sake of our common humanity?
IN THE MIND'S EYE: A CITIZEN'S IMAGES
That accused assassin, Oswald,
Murdered in jail by a vengeful man.
That avowed assassin, bin Laden,
Shot in the head by a president's team.
REFRAIN: A RECURRING QUATRAIN
No trial, blood pours,
And so justice is done,
But by whose definition,
And under whose sun?
© 2011 by Mary R. Bull
Excellent, Mary. Hear hear. A nasty piece of work has been destroyed, but not by judge and jury. It leaves a bad taste. It sets a worrying precedent.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does set a worrying precedent. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Celia.
ReplyDeleteYes, a nasty piece of work. The end does not justify the means. Not even in our entertainment world do we hold up that sort of behavior as admirable because the possibility of killing the wrong man existed. Gunsmoke's Matt Dillon would not have allowed it. But it happened, and according to reports, Bin Laden was unarmed. And no Navy Seal has admitted to panicking, although perhaps they might have but would never admit it. Well, I've written this 3 times, but it doesn't improve with the writing. But I would feel better if it were simply a mistake made under duress. Sis
ReplyDeleteYes, sis. You're expressing yourself very well here. If you have the time, have a look at Glenn Greenwald's thoughtfully reasoned piece:
ReplyDelete"The Osama bin Laden exception": http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/05/06/bin_laden