OnKee M.

The Trial

She stands before the crowd,
Shaking knees, clammy palms.
Silence comes out of her open mouth.

The audience waits,
The jury, restless.
It has been three hours.
The crime was fatal
And justice was inevitable.

The death was an accident,
She didn’t know how to explain.
Her mouth was dry
As she choked back some air.
“Water” she croaked.
“Please, water.”

Her thoughts were racing,
What was she to say?

She had been driving,
The boy was small.
He was only seven.
It was dark;
The beginning of a new moon.
A collision.
The body was stilled.
As his heartbeat slowed, hers sped up.
He had fallen into an endless sleep.

Tears roll down her cheek,
What had she done?

What the court didn’t know was
That the justice was her mind.





[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2013 EDITION]

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