A Dark Day In June:
The Martyr Who Lives Again
A Moment Frozen In Time Haiku
Behind muffled screams,A brave soldier lay dying.
Life for the taking.
Much has been said and written about the execution of Timothy James McVeigh. A circus-like atmosphere hung over the world like a thick fog, obscuring the stark and undeniable fact that this soldier, a man who was prepared for death when he bravely marched to war, was scrutinized and emotionally disected on CNN for all the world to see and gloat happily. A young man, steely-eyed and unmoved by even a trace of fear, was leaving this world in a mad flourish of cameras, video recorders and bright, snapping eyes. Wasn't this what everyone wanted? Was Tim McVeigh really vilified by each and every human being in the world?
Not by everyone. His supporters, more legion and vocal than those who hated him so very much, have come to the forefront, giving support and admiration to one who would soon fade out of the picture and disappear. Like a stone in the ocean. Like a gigantic wave, or a sergeant who had, for all intents and purposes, laid down his life for his government. We refuse to remain silent.
Tears Of Love Haiku
Beaten, broken, still:A father's dream was dying.
Who will weep for him?
The Wailing Wall
A heavy heart seems to fall into my shoes,With cold blood drowning my once-hearty soul.
Why do I care? Did I have anything to lose>
After the deed was done, pain threatened to swallow me whole.
Anniversaries echoing the dead leave us wondering why,
A blazing, three-ring circus, replete with billowing tents
Is billowing proudly, piercing a hole in the morning sky.
And the atmosphere then was both troubling and tense.
Why do I care so much? Why did Tim have such power over me?
I suppose it's because he seemed so lonely and so lost.
How much more tragic and sad the execution could be?
Tim gave up his life-----for a very high cost.
No matter how much time passes, how many years fly on by,
I will never give up all my sadness, all the rage.
Most people are troubled that at Tim's death I still cry,
Even though he was finally free of his cage.
I am trying to get through this day relatively unscathed, but I know better. Even though they say that time will one day heal the wounds, I am skeptical. Tim took on his government and nearly won. A tragic course of events brought him to that horrific and terrible place on death row, spending each day with the spectre of death staring blankly into his eyes. People say that Tim wasn't a brave soul as he faced death with eyes wide open, that he had no choice. And some disgusting journalists salivate in their belief that Tim literally begged for his life after Judge Matsch denied him a second stay of execution. Nothing could have been further from the truth---Tim never begged for anything in his life. People just want to wallow in the joy of seeing the American Terrorist twist helplessly in the wind. As his lawyer, Robert High said after the deadly coctail of drugs had taken his client, that it's terrible that part of the healing process is killing. Nobody has the right to take a life. What would these people do if a loved one ended up on death row and was subsequently executed? I bet there would be no victory parties, no dancing in the streets.
If Tim's death meant anything, it showed that, once a soldier, always a soldier. It has been said that old soldiers don't die---they just fade away. Well, in this case, a brave sergeant, a survivor of the Gulf War, was neither old, nor did he simply fade away. He burned out. Maybe Tim planned it that way from the very beginning. Perhaps he'd been rehearsing the events of June 11th, 2001 all his life.
And so a martyr was born.
