Trial with Hyenas

They swarm about the dock,
nipping at the grubby child who clings
to the prisoner's skirt. Among the debris
of the courtroom floor
two of them worry at the backbone
of a half-eaten convict.
The rest chant: "Guilty! Guilty!"

The verdict is a foregone conclusion,
the evidence mere embellishment.
The charges go unanswered temporarily
while the snarls of the jury
drown all speech.

--words courtesy of Big Tent
Collection available! Knocking from Inside