The Judge

Scowling and attentive

Up there on the bench with

The years of a life in his hands

All rise at his entrance

Black clad he ascends and 

Gavels in proceedings once again

Later in the evening

He prepares to leave and

Hangs his robes on a brass hook by the bookcase

Drives his car back home and

Eats a meal alone then

Steels himself for sleep and another workday

But terror in the night

A courtroom bathed in light

And His Honor seated way up in the clouds

No opening argument

Then the questioning begins

His voice like thunder shakes the very ground

The judge has finished speaking

Now a greater fear breaking

The man himself is expected to reply

He fumbles for an instant

Then lands on his defense and

Begins a challenge to the judge on high 

He says when would I have seen you

What’d you say I didn’t do

And what’s that got to do with who I am inside

I did what they told me

Only took what was owed me

And made sure that the sentence matched the crime

It wasn’t always pleasant 

To judge and pass a sentence

But those miscreants brought trouble on themselves 

Nobody made them criminals

They chose to become animals

And i make sure they’re locked up in a cell

Then a trumpet blast awakens him

Sky is black the stars are dim

He’s sweating and he’s shaking in his bed

He shuts his eyes and takes a breath

And thinks of anything but death

And fusses with the pillow beneath his head

There’s time still ere the dawn shall break

Before the gavel shall be raised

Before judgment convenes that fateful day

Is mercy strong enough to stem

The rolling tide of consequence

And claim but one man’s life back from the grave?