Take a life for a life
the government decrees
as an eye for an eye
Hammurabi set code
for laws on a stone slab
on stele now ancient
Every man on death row
knows the law well enough
after he meets sentence
Quare fellows in prison
hidden from the others
before their last goodbye
Until the condemned man
meets up with the hangman
he rots in his jail cell
As any animal
well-fed inside the zoo
waiting ever patient
Rotting away with death
standing in the shadows
even if repentance
Elicits deep remorse
a reprieve is not due
unless the old warden
Fixes a deal to save
a man facing the noose
in the pit of a well
Elaborate details
concerning the murder
with a cleaver hellbent
Leaves the warden to doubt
the benefit of life
without parole on stage
Liberties once granted
the state can't reinstate
capital punishment
Only a deterrent
can keep the legal code
intact life in a cage
Will make some men think twice
before they act insane
to live life in prison
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