The Condemned


The face
      of a condemned
                     and lonely man is,
                                                 in truth,
                                                             no different than any other face.
His eyes
       are no more full of chagrin
                                       than other eyes.
   His mind,
           no more poisoned.
       His soul,
               no more sullen.
          His life,
                  no more empty.
                                 
And except for that aura of defeat
                                            that one can sense about him,
           he is quite an ordinary man.

Yes. Come to think of it,
                                     I am quite
          an ordinary man.


June 1996