In a dream I heard birds speak. <br />'See the courtroom and the judge on the dias? <br />Surely this is the foundation of criminal <br />justice.' There was a burst of throaty <br /> <br />agreement. Suddenly, the ground groaned <br />and the birds shrieked. The earth spoke <br />with lips of sand and a tongue of dust. <br />'I am the foundation upon which <br />all things rest. The murdered woman, <br />the mass graves hidden away.' <br /> <br />Bone Lady, Bone Lady, <br />What do you see? <br />Arm bone, leg bone, <br />do they hold the key? <br /> <br />'the homeless man, his only memorial <br />a knife rising from his chest. <br /> <br />'I brace the witnesses, I cup the tears <br />of mourners, and drink in the sighs <br />of those who believe all life is precious.' <br /> <br />Mourners, witnesses, <br />and those who care, <br />Tell me, tell me, <br />what would you say? <br />'They ended a life, <br />how do they dare! ' <br /> <br />'I wait for those who listen <br />for the dead to tell their stories. <br />In good part, this is the bedrock <br />upon which it all rests. Without <br />these justice is but an empty bag <br />flapping in the wind.'<br /><br />Mary Naylor<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fundament-ii-revised/
