Truth on the Chopping Block

 

 

The lawyer for the opposition

Approached the dock,

The one that sat there

He clearly intended to mock.

 

“State your name for the jury,”

He said with great disdain,

“And if it’s the truth you are speaking

Do kindly refrain.”

 

The judge on the bench

Laughed the loudest of all

To which the defendant shook his head

And then said with a drawl…

 

“I am Truth,” he said,

To the annoyance of the court.

“It appears you are a clown,”

Was the judge’s retort.

 

“I can hold you in contempt,”

He smugly replied.

“That I am the power in my court

Cannot be denied.

 

So, just state your name,

I don’t care what you do,

Or you won’t even know who you are

When all this is through.”

 

“Tell us your name,”

The opposing attorney said again,

To which the defendant replied,

Clearly under no strain…

 

“I am Truth,”

The defendant said once more,

“I am my name,

No need to get sore.

 

There was a time

When truth was recognized

But since you changed your laws

Truth has been denied.

 

You are not the first,

That Roman Governor was before:

Pilate was his name,

Need I say more?

 

 

Then Truth was crucified,

Ignorance reign supreme

And today the only difference is,

It is greater esteemed.”

 

“I am in charge here!”

Screamed the irritated judge,

“You will answer to what’s asked,

And don’t you dare budge!

 

“Continue, my colleague,”

He said to the opposing attorney,

“And do what you can, my friend

To shorten this journey.”

 

“Thank you, your honour,

I will see what I can do

To bring this matter to a finish

And give Truth his due.”

 

With this there was a snigger

All across the courtroom,

Whatever his name was

Would soon be doomed.

 

 

In the court of public opinion

Stood the defender of truth!

He himself was his only defense

He himself was his proof!

 

In a courtroom of lies

And full of dumb falsity

The truth is being relegated

To one of the many.

 

There is no absolute truth,

Just your truth and mine

And pretty soon, I would imagine,

Real truth would be unkind.

 

In fact, it already is

According to the law courts

And what used to be considered funny

Is no longer sport.

 

Truth has been sacrificed

On the altar of public opinion

And all of its staunch supporters

Are considered of the rebellion.

 

 

The battleground is defined:

It is the human mind

And from the garden of Eden

It was all that time.

 

Truth versus all else

That is, all except the truth,

And no exception to that rule

Even if there is proof.

 

A minority ruling

With the majority displaced

And the majority becoming the minority-

Oh, what a disgrace!

 

The new truth has come

That can be molded to everyone!

Live out the truth you feel

Now the old truth has gone!

 

Gender via genitals!

That is no longer the score!

Who says there are only two genders

When there are infinitely more?

 

It doesn’t have to be natural

Or even feel-so

As long as it is what I want

I can have a go.

 

And if at any time afterwards

I want to change back,

I am free to pull on my lever

And simply change track.

 

  

I can be male or a female

Whenever I feel

And this should be my right

Given my sex appeal.

 

Let the children decide too

But let the parents beware

What their penalty would be

If they dare interfere.

 

And if I feel like howling

Let me be a wolf

Or if bloodsucking be my craze

I can be a louse.

 

With this before us

Let us return to the courtroom

Where even though it is daytime

There is impending doom.

 

Impending doom because

Truth is on trial

And judge, jury and attorneys

Are in stark denial.

“So, your name is truth

And you are truth?

And all of us here are to believe

That you are the only proof?”

 

“Search your heart

If in deed you still have one

And you will surely discover

How you were born.

 

There is a woman and a man

That must have procreated

Or an egg and sperm

From which you migrated.

 

That is the truth

Of how you came to be

And I dare say even in your distorted mind

That truth you can see.

 

To abandon the truth

Is to jettison human life

Which requires a male and female;

More ideally, a man and his wife.

 

From this moment on

I will let you have your say,

In any case you will mute the truth

Beginning from today.

 

For truth is the light

That exposes all evil deeds

And no doubt you won’t want that

Given your vices and greed.”

 

The last words of Truth

And thereafter nary a word,

It was now up to judge and jury

Given all they had heard.

 

The verdict was swift

As is so often these days

Particularly when dealing with matters

Over which Truth holds sway.

 

The attorney closed his case

And then the judge summed up,

The jury retired thereafter

To determine Truth’s cup.

 

In less than five minutes

They were back in the courtroom

Unanimously agreeing

On what was to be Truth’s doom.

 

“What is your verdict?”

Ask the judge of the foreman

And at the foreman’s response

Only one was solemn.

 

“Guilty as charged,”

Came the jury foreman’s reply

As Truth wiped a saline liquid

Away from his eye.

  

This was the poisoned venom

Of the serpent’s kiss,

Truth was now condemned

To both legend and myth.

 

All that was needed now

Was for the sentenced to be read

And no doubt for these legal luminaries

Truth will be soon dead.

 

And so, the judge announced

To rapturous applause

“No more truth in our courtroom

And no more God!

 

From here it is gladiatorial war

And the best man wins,

Now there is no absolute truth

To judge immorality and sin.

 

You can now live as you like

But you must win every fight

And bear in mind my comrades,

That means might is your right.

 

 

Also remember the maxim,

“Be careful what you wish for”

For this day you have got it;

It is now all out war!

 

Truth on the chopping block

Means life denigrated,

If I live for only me,

You are not appreciated.

 

Stewart Russell © November 5, 2022

 

The First Stone

 

 

Not a foundation stone

Or a corner stone

But the first stone that one throws

In his act to condemn a soul

That acted without his zone.

 

We are the jury

And we are the judge

And we also determine the verdict,

The sentence we must carry out

And only when it’s done, we will quit.

 

 

With a strong bias

And an ethnic prejudice

We decide who is to be stoned

And so, with that, we take careful aim,

For we don’t intend to miss.

 

But to make it all legal

And at least looking right,

We will consult an independent source

So that that first stone can be ours

And we’ll throw it with telling force.

 

But it may be legal

And it may be right

And the first stone may be ours to throw,

But not at the victim we intend

For we might be just as low. 

 

Let him that is without sin

The Master had said,

Let him cast the first stone,

But they envisaged the boomerang effect;

They were all in the hitting zone.

 

With tail between their legs

They did begrudgingly leave,

They were as guilty as she was too,

For only one is without any sin

And it’s neither me nor you.

 

So, if you want

To cast the first stone

Do be prepared to die,

For to stone someone is to stone yourself

And that you can never deny.

 

Stewart Russell © April 2020

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

It’s the best that man can do

After all he is not God,

Due process must take its course

Even after the news has gone abroad.

There may have been witnesses

To the particular crime

But the perpetrator is innocent

Until due process has had its time.

Of course there is the people’s court

Usually guilty is the verdict,

Guilty until proven otherwise

And to that they will always stick.

The truth of the matter is

A person is either innocent or guilty

And the court’s decision otherwise

Cannot change that reality.

There may be an explanation

For why the crime was done

But due process would determine

Whether or not that case is won.

Motive and intent plays a role

And there might be aggravation

So that a perpetrator’s plea might be

Guilty with explanation.

One might be exonerated

And might be allowed to go free

But the truth of the matter is

That person is still guilty.

Innocent until proven guilty

That is really not the truth

Since truth never needs to rest

On man’s evidence or his proof.

Reality establishes the truth

As it pertains to a particular event,

The truth is really what happened:

That is often the court’s intent.

A person is therefore innocent

If he or she did not commit the act

On the other hand if he or she did

Their guilt must be seen as a fact.

Due process is critically important

And this we must admit,

It’s the best that our courts can do

Before they convict or acquit.

With God it is totally different

He is an eyewitness to everything,

He knows the innocent and the guilty

Regardless of the evidence we bring.

Innocent until proven guilty

Can never ever arise with Him

For while legal justice deals with crime

God treats to the matter of sin.

We are all naked before Him

Guilty is the verdict from birth,

No differentiating between persons

That’s for all that live upon earth.

Oft the innocent is disadvantaged

In cases beyond their control

But with God this is not possible

He knows every lie that’s been told.

The guilty verdict upon our life

Has been taken care of by Christ,

He nailed our guilt upon the cross

When there his life he sacrificed.

His innocence is imputed to everyone

That has been born again,

“No longer guilty” is the verdict

To them that have called on his name.

Jesus has the power of attorney

To represent our case to God,

His plea of innocent has delivered us

From the guilty charge of the Fraud.

Satan, that wily old prosecutor

Calls for our incarceration

But Jesus Christ, Justice for the defense

Has accomplished our exoneration.

Innocent until proven guilty

That’s the best that man can do,

Innocent even though proven guilty

That’s what Christ did for me and for you.

Stewart Russell © July 2018