Death Row, Cell 36

(A death convict’s last thoughts
before the execution)

within this choking confine
i hear the mocking chime
of clock marking time.

beyond this four-cornered concrete cracking,
locks clanking like blades of grass gnashing,
like swords clashing, like glass crashing.

these iron bars:
brothers to my scars
and tattoos myriad as stars -

gaping teeth of devil’s mold grinning;
round bars, cold to hold,
frigid and rigid,
unmoving.

in me, the inexorable reproach seeping,
even as I see that cocky cockroach creeping,
from my cracked couch, peeping.

i see
the shifting shades of Life fading;

i hear
the lulling voice of Death…

… calling.


- between liberty and death is verdict.

(c) Chito L. Aguilar