Hangman

How casually

We kill a man.

How easily

We 'save' his life

With words

That sound right.

Our own stupid mistakes

Condemn his fate.

Hangman asks,

"Have they got it yet?"

The executioner shakes

His head.

"Sorry." Another piece,

To the killing machine,

Is added.

Don't forget the noose.

Hangman is impatient.

Half his face is missing,

Along with a leg.

He's hanging by a pencil-drawn thread, uncomfortable.

How easily we play

With hangman's life.

Well,

He's only a drawing on a page.

Just like a statistic;

Not as important,

But still as much fun.

A game -

Like politics and the law.