Damocles

 

the striking serpent

in my left

hisses and spits

Assssssad

the rabid wolf

in my right

froths and foams

for freedom

and either of these

sly predators

could have delivered

the fatal bite

that caused parents

and children

to weep blister

burn and die

 

a black man

with skin of grey

and eyes bloodshot

from lack of sleep

stumbles

first up

then down

then back

then round

the paths that lead

to Armageddon

 

do this

do right

do wrong

do this

do wrong

do right

 

could I

would I

swap with him

knowing that

each move

each twitch

could save

or damn

 

I Silently

pray to God

to save me

from that fate

deliver me

so that

I am not

that man

 

will the sword

fall on him

or he on the sword

and will his blade

cut the Syrian air

in flaming vengeance

for a crime

that is proven in fact

yet unproven in cause

 

and will he have friends

or will he have enemies

or will they be the same

for every deed done

is a deed to be repaid

and every action

will have reaction

every death

a bitter birth of pain

 

while he waits

ponders

deliberates

the single strand of hair

that holds the

cutting edge aloft

snaps silently

and the world

lets out its breath

in an explosion

of grief anger

retribution

 

where it falls

people die

and innocence

is no longer

the question

only the answer