The D.A.'s Opening Statement
       

Don't put yourself in anybody's shoes.
(The prosecutor looks me in the eye.)
Your logic must prevail here. Win or lose,

this case consists of facts. Do not confuse
them with heart tugging the defense will try.
Don't put yourself in anybody's shoes.

Your task: stay in your own, try not to muse
on how it feels to err and cause someone to die.
Your logic must prevail here. Win or lose,

you twelve must weigh hard evidence to choose
your verdict. You will hear a mother testify.
Don't put yourself in anybody's shoes—

not hers, not mine, the cops, or the accused.
Go somewhere else behind closed doors to cry.
Your logic must prevail here. You will lose

a lot of sleep, obsess, drink too much booze.
No need to be alarmed or wonder why.
Don't put yourself in anybody's shoes.
Your logic might prevail. But it might lose.

Tweet

Copyright © 2020 Kathleen McClung All rights reserved
from A Juror Must Fold in on Herself
Rattle
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission