And Murdered in her Bed

Freeverse

(Oscar Wilde wrote that long poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" in 1897, quoted here. In it, a man met his death; for some decades the UK has not had the death penalty.)

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Our man’s still here, spent twenty years behind these bars.
and may be here for quite some time to come.
Death is not allowed in jail, even for death,
and yet it was a death he brought about.

She was “The poor dead woman whom he loved
And murdered in her bed”.
Yes, he thinks of Oscar’s words, the words
that talk of “three leathern thongs” that hold a murderer.

He thinks of the rope that would throttle;
he wishes Mr Wilde’s “Ballad” would apply to him.
He wishes for death, wanting to share that of the one he loved.
But he’s been here for twenty years.

He may remain a long, long time. Punishment!
Decades more seem to hold out their arms. Punishment!
He᾽ll be gripped by each decade’s year. Punishment!
Each “year whose days are long”. Punishment!

Oscar’s “Ballad” has long been with him,
a long, long poem he cherishes, takes to his bed,
wishes for that condemned man’s throat,
the rope and thongs the man felt as “he gave that bitter cry”.

That man was given death.
Execution was perhaps reward.
Each had, of course, killed the one he loved.
What is a punishment? Death now, quickly, or life in jail?


(17 Jul 2023)

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I am very familiar with the poem and the place Andrew. Pass it often. Now it sports a Banksy on the outer prison walls. As for your thoughts here, I am never in favour of state execution. I don’t believe in an eye for an eye. I can see how some might think death is more merciful than years in prison, but it’s not enough to sway me. A death sentence creates martyrs. Great read and composition. Have a good day.

Chris

[Andrew John]

Thanks, Chris. People need punishment if they've done wrong, yes, but not death, I feel. It has been known here in the UK that one person - and I forget who - was executed when he was not the one of a pair of guys who did the murder: it was the other guy. (I've got a shorter version of "Ballad" on Celtica Radio very soon, BTW (I do a lot of voice work for that station). I'll let you know, in case you'd like to hear it being read: both the shorter "Ballad" and this poem, "And Murdered in her Bed".)

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Andrew .

[Andrew John]

Meant to mention: https://www.celticaradio.com/. And read (with an English accent, of course!) by me! Should be there in a few days' time and will last a month.

[Dave Brown]

Interesting outlook on the concept of punishment
I do believe in an eye for an eye.
Too many criminals are released just to reoffend!
This has me thinking of the drug lord El Chapo who murdered countless people with nary a thought.
He was jailed in isolation instead of being executed but turned jail time into a bit of a rest stop, then escaped, was eventually jailed again and is now jailed, supposedly in isolation, for life.
I am not sure just what to think.
I'd like to see him executed for being the slime he is (and others like him, including Putin) but in reality I want to see them suffer for as long as possible.
A very complex issue.

[Andrew John]

Interesting thoughts here, Dave. I tend to be against execution, knowing that this act makes us all murderers. I tend to believe that we can move on. Gives us all some serious thinking to do.

[W. Barrett Munn]

It is obvious you have read a great deal of poetry and absorbed well the lessons it taught. The two aspects in this work I most admire are the assonance among allowed/brought/about and the repetition of punishment. Well written.

Winston

[Andrew John]

Thanks so much for your comments, Winston. It came rather quickly to me, though poetry often takes its time. But it was because I've done a voiced job on both this poem and "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" for Celtica Radio (radio network), due to go on a programme in a few days for a month, introduced by a chap called Dave Carrington. You can hear them if you can find him (https://www.celticaradio.com/). And read (with an English accent, of course!) by me!

[John the Baptist]

Interesting concept in this one. Execution seen as more merciful than life in prison. You should send this one to Sirhan Sirhan.

[Andrew John]

Thanks for amusing comment J the B. BTW, I've just voiced a slightly shorter version of "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" and this poem and sent them to Celtica Radio. Just hope they like them (I'm doing a lot of voice stuff for them).