“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” - Edmund Burke
Justice is meant to be blind and we are familiar with the image of Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice holding the balance of judgement while blindfolded. When one thinks of a court of law, one thinks of justice. Judges are meant to serve justice and be impartial, disinterested, unbiased and unprejudiced when considering a case before them.
We now see corruption in the judiciary becoming increasingly common and judges are exposed to be willfully violating their oath of office. Justice is not being served in an astonishing number of cases, with verdicts leaving the public perplexed, and the innocent becoming victims of a corrupt legal system. Read more about this topic here.
Poets United today has as its theme “Justice” and invites participants to: “Create a poem centering on Justice or Poetic Justice”. Here is my offering:
Justice is meant to be blind and we are familiar with the image of Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice holding the balance of judgement while blindfolded. When one thinks of a court of law, one thinks of justice. Judges are meant to serve justice and be impartial, disinterested, unbiased and unprejudiced when considering a case before them.
We now see corruption in the judiciary becoming increasingly common and judges are exposed to be willfully violating their oath of office. Justice is not being served in an astonishing number of cases, with verdicts leaving the public perplexed, and the innocent becoming victims of a corrupt legal system. Read more about this topic here.
Poets United today has as its theme “Justice” and invites participants to: “Create a poem centering on Justice or Poetic Justice”. Here is my offering:
The Fillips of Hope
Sacrificing all to dark gods –
Who ever more bloodthirstily demand –
You lose your dignity.
Killing all traces of humanity
While burying deeply all regrets,
You lose your probity.
A faceless ghost of who you were
A vampire feeding on the blood of justice
Your silence makes the evil stronger.
The bloodless lips won’t speak out
The wide-open eyes refuse to see,
Your ears hear, but won’t listen.
Is every cell of yours malignant now?
Has heart become so petrified,
Has soul escaped you so completely?
Is cruel body just an empty shell,
Are tendons tightly drawn so taut
In attitudes of ever-attacking fury?
Your brazen corpse, so empty
Should let the hardened shell at least to crack,
Admit the light, truth, justice, love…
And then your every cell would resonate
As the sounds of hope enter it and act as fillips,
To effect your metamorphosis,
From noisome grub to brilliant butterfly.
Pow! I love your hard-hitting questions and ultimately the hope that what seems hard crusted can be transformed. I hope all of these newborn butterflies don't have to go through an evil phase before they see the truth!
ReplyDeleteHi Nick - this really is a frightening picture of 'justice.' So often it seems that 'silence makes the evil stronger.' Eventually the 'faceless ghost' may lose its soul completely & become just an 'empty shell.' But we can always hope that the brilliant butterfly could and would eventually re-emerge to allow REAL justice to reign once more! A powerful write!
ReplyDeleteYou paint the portrait starkly and with keen observation of the cost of such a stance. I love the brilliance of the butterfly at the end - there is always hope of transformation, though unlikely when a being is that far gone. A thought-provoking and hard hitting piece!
ReplyDeleteIntense & frightening..! Loved the portrayal of justice in these lines :D
ReplyDeletexoxo
Your poem is bold and honest. I like the hope you give in the last stanza.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Myrna - bold and tough with a soupçon of hope.
ReplyDeleteNicholas,
ReplyDeleteThe systems of justice around the world, all seem to share this lassitude and reluctance, to seemingly work with the truth and see justice done. Instead, the truth emerges as more corruption and decisions, which are questioned by the rest of society. Sad that learned men, turn to the 'other side,' themselves. I wrote a poem some years ago called: The Scrupulously Unscupulous. It was prompted by politicans and religious leaders in Northern Ireland.With that in mind, I'm not sure that there is the will to see many beautiful butterflies!!
Eileen
The famous quote "The law is an ass" by Dickens is applicable to most jurisdictions. But it is the best that has been invented by man...so clearly then it is flawed!
ReplyDeleteSorry Nic....there are few butterfles around and loads of ikky grubs but I love your optimism and hope which is a good positive thing....zipedee doo daa !:)
ReplyDeletethis is a call to those who willfully violate the truthful texture of the society to break their odious shells, to come out and learn to live and let live in an amicable atmosphere of purity and truthfulness...love the end...great lines Nick :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem, Nicholas, about those who err, do evil deeds and flout the laws that society has put them in charge of upholding. But I like your last stanza, which is full of optimism about the power of redemption. Everyone, no matter how bad can admit good into their heart and be redeemed...
ReplyDeleteYes the system must change into something most beautiful than before.
ReplyDeleteThere are just too many of them moving around. Thoughtless yes. But their actions are those of villains because they cause suffering and failure. A powerful writing! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteapplause! i totally digged how you made your lines all sound like some forensic tv show or something. brilliant and very creative!!! bone-tingling too. thanks.
ReplyDeletewow, justice a ghoist, a vampire and a butterfly all in one!!
ReplyDeleteJoy From Acts of Pleasure