My Walk

From the bench I rise, stare through glazed eyes at the sun above my head

a source of constant light, I tilt back my head and bask in its aura.

I hear the crows before I see them, eyes watchful. Always watchful.

With shuffling steps I can begin my walk, predetermined. Destined.

Shrieks of starlings either side pierce the air. Wings flutter as I disturb the most flighty.

All the noise around me rings in my ears. It threatens to deafen me.

The crows lurk in the background, mirroring my every move.

My walk is a short one, I pass through stone arches flanked by the most beautiful blooming vines.

A stale scent hits my nostrils, I cant quite figure it out.

I wait, the crows call out.

The clouds must pass over the sun as the light dims and then brightens.

A calm transcends over my body as I set again off step by step towards my seat.

I take my seat, I feel the air close around me. My mind is screaming out but my body is calm.

A tightness around my wrists, ankles. Water dribbles down my forehead and drops off my chin.

The grasses just ahead of me part, I see my son, my wife and my father.

Sat there, tears stream from their faces.

My heart is now pounding, iv broken into a sweat. The crows look at me, pity in their beady eyes.

Panic sets in. My eyes the only part which can move, swipe side to side in a frenzy.

I look to the crows, in desperation. I was taught of gods mercy.

Where is it now. Is this gods mercy?

A call from the crow. One last look at my son, his horrified stare and weeping mother.

I scream a muffled scream, this cant be it. Right here in this moment. My last.

I close my eyes. Tight shut. I feel a weightlessness. Liberation, freedom. Silence.

Nothing.

A poem written by an unnamed inmate on death-row in his final hours. The inmate was executed 11/19/2009 in the state of Virginia for the murder and rape of a young female. A year later new evidence from an anonymous source was brought before a judge and a pardon was issued. The family have kept the case from the media as its there wish to help with closure. But please spare a thought for those men and women who have been wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit which has led to their death.