An Occasional Poem for March 29, 2018

ON ADNAN SYED'S VACATED CONVICTION

          after Yeats

What do we need, now come to sense

but find the hefty wherewithal

to free this man free of offense

whose case holds many in its thrall—

but not for them, his eighteen years

that he has languished in the gaol,

but for his family’s worse fears,

let this not end in epic fail.

Let law’s worst errors be undone

so finally justice will prevail.

Yet “fumbling in a greasy till”

for one solved case will not undo

the system that we have here still,

so much of it is misconstrued,

too mistried, unfair, tortured, so

focused on the adversary

not any desire to follow

truth or facts, no emissary

of such so that in the ending

there is no end. We’re left wary.

And yet, we’ll chip away like this,

readers, thinkers, coming along,

while lying witness’ Judas kiss

can be unlied and right the wrong

as NGO’s and volunteers,

pro-bono lawyers and the press,

podcasters’ cell phones show up here,

search for the truth, provide redress.

Here’s to Rabia, Brown: Sayed--

on to Pelletier, Montgomery, and the rest!