There’s a dead man hanging near the chapel wall,
from a rope tied around his neck.
They say he got what he deserved,
his life was such a wreck.
He took a life that was not his
despite the consequence.
They caught the guy red-handed
though he denied it then and hence.
The judge laid down his gavel
when the jury spoke their sights.
It wasn’t long thereafter that
the preacher gave last rights.
The choir sang, the people cheered,
a father wept with joy;
found comfort for his anger,
though it won’t bring back his boy.
The man was put up on a stump
for all the town to see,
and as the flaxen chord was drawn
I saw him look at me.
His hollow eyes and empty soul
revealed a hardened man,
and gave me pause to wonder
when this tragedy began.
He could have blamed his mother
or the bully at his school.
He could have blamed most anyone
believing such a fool.
Regardless of the reasons
that a dying man would give,
the reason he is dead today
is how he chose to live.
© 2018 | Story by Cary Snowden | Illustration by Zach Clough | All Rights Reserved. | #lineswithlines
Extras: This one is one of Zach’s favorites; he likes the dark stuff. I like to think he appreciates the clever rhyming and strong moral impact. 🙂 I like this one, too. It’s one of my earliest stories.
I wrote this after thinking about the personal responsibility we all have for our own destiny. Sure, life can throw you a curveball, but I believe it’s in how we react to those curve balls that defines our character.
Dead Man Hanging was featured on the poetry website PoetrySoup.com during the week of August 12, 2018.
—Cary
I like this story a lot. Sure it has a dark undertone, but I like how it comes full circle to show that in the end we are all accountable for, and responsible for our own lives and how they turn out. There is always a consequence for a decision made… good or bad.