“...We were united in our resolve to bring those who carried out the attacks to Justice.”
—President Barack Obama, on the death of Osama Bin Laden May 1, 2011.
I issue this invitation:
Justice, dear,
sit with me—we’ll talk—
raise a glass over this dead bloodied enemy
to whom you have been betrothed.
Together, Justice, you and I
will explore the metaphoric fog
surrounding your name:
Justice in place of due process,
Justice in the death of evil,
Justice in the triumph of revenge.
There are dead folk here
whom I do not wish to offend
yet I fear equally
those gathering to mourn
and those celebrating.
Will you deliver to the grieving
the same swift response?
Are the celebrators welcoming
a new world order in your name?
Where shall I perch
as they climb the slopes
of our Constitution,
the Geneva Convention,
the Rule of Law,
ignite fireworks,
raise clenched fists,
promise Justice For All?
Must I now redirect that
pledge of allegiance
ingrained in my childhood
to an ancient Justice once anathema,
to a vicious Justice heroically defied,
to a Justice not yet defined, who is
now, I fear, the Master of Ceremonies?