Execution

Execution

Trembling in the shadow of the clock,
Timing wretched heartbeats ‘til the morn
Strikes my final hour on the dock.
Is it for this cruel end that I was born?

Taking count, the millions fade away
In memory, dust unto bloody dust.
Who is to bear the burden of this day,
And who the guilt of very holocaust?

Cattle bred for slaughter on the altar
Of military might. Children shorn
Of freedom, sacrificed as so much fodder.
Is it for this cruel end that we were born?

Oh, curses on this noose that binds the world
In servitude to bloody rule; to kill
Or else be killed! Too soon my flag is furled.
The clock strikes nigh. I die for my free will.