We sit in numbered seats of the jury box
like culled cards from a deck of 52
whose value, though, is not evident
inside a courtroom in 2026,
A draw of 12 decide the worth of life
and where to fix the blame for its demise
was recklessness or malintent the cause
or did his doings lead to his own end?
The plaintiff and defendant read their hand
assessing do they hold the winning one
the while none could know were we the ace
the king or queen or even the joker be,
But then before the flesh is put to bone
of the case, someone folds; they send us home.
18 July 2026
