just two men talking

the bottom of his hood came

with a trapdoor view

hardwood?

nah, laminate, smooth finish

cleans up nice

but plywood

might have sufficed

9 square feet

steel hinges

6 feet 5 inches to meet his fate

doesn’t seem like a long drop

too long for Eva Dugan in 1928

but mostly humane

thank god for that

those short drops were torture

just ¾ of a second

a short hurtle towards earth

to snap vertebrae

without that last torturous dance

the classic hangman’s fracture

ever dream you’re falling?

Oh, yeah, I hate that. Don’t you?

hemp coiled seven times, American style

waxed, soaped and greased

knot positioned near the left ear

a black cotton or denim hood

kindly placed to shield witnesses

from emotional pain

physical distortion

Saddam Hussein refused the hood

to further scar his detractors

the Honorable Isaac Parker sent over 100 men to end of their rope

can you believe it

I did read about him

at least I know the end is here

yeah, there’s that

when one door closes, another door opens 

the heat of her touch

her breath salted

steamy

papaya and mango

just as her nose and lips

nestled

near his left ear

offering

a sensuous gentleness

then the sudden lightness

a dream of flying

Barry DeCarli

March 01, 2010

©2010 Barry DeCarli