As a result of a swift sentence,
We, the condemned, ponder
What we could have done better.
Death to all who oppose
Despite what should be.
Perchance, our conclusive statements
will incite an ambitious spark
In the hearts of the oppressed.
The dead eyed executioner
Herds us onto a creaky wooden platform.
Under which lies the body of the king.
A rope loop in the sky mourns openly
for the lives it has already stolen.
We, the condemned, form ranks,
Showing defiance even in the face of death.
I look to the horizon for a miracle
But find only cold cloudy indifference.
A crowd of people forced to watch
Stand on the perimeter of the square.
I notice a comrade's wife;
Dirty and small in the dim light.
I wonder how she can follow the oath
To a point this far along.
“I will never show weakness.
I will never submit.
I will stay as strong
As long as my people need me to be.”
There she stands, tall and imposing,
Still honoring the oath we wrote.
A fat man in muted red
Saunters into the square,
As I recall placing a noose
Around his father’s neck.
He breaks the silence.
“These men, the condemned,
Have forfeited the right to live.
For they have killed my father, the Mighty King!”
The poor excuse of a man
Steps gingerly from his pedestal.
And gestures for the executioner to begin.
Panic threatens to overwhelm me;
But I fight it down,
Reciting the sacred oath.
I will never show weakness.
One of us is lead to the hatch.
I will never submit.
A noose is secured around his neck.
I will stay as strong
The death-bringer grips the lever.
As long as my people need me to be.
“For Honor!”
The condemned one’s words,
Bellowed through the silence,
Hit the crowd like a war-hammer.
Dead-eyes heaves the lever
Dropping the hatch.
The crack of our brother’s neck
Echoing around the square for ages.
The Prince’s visage grows furious.
“Honor? What honor do these men have?
None! Kill the rest!” He snarls.
Another is guided to the hatch.
Upon inspection, the crowd--
They grow furious, too.
“For Freedom!”
The lever is pulled,
And the man is dead.
Muttering breaks out in the crowd.
The Prince looks about, now unsure.
I am next selected.
I will never show weakness.
I am lead to the hatch.
I will never submit.
A noose is put around my neck.
I will stay strong!
“FOR STRENGTH!”
I see the crowd surge,
The Prince draw his sword,
And the rest of the condemned begin to fight.
I grin.
As long as my people need me t--