Chair of Reckoning

Seated on the Chair of Reckoning,
high above the valley,
misty mountains of crime surround.
Situational gravity tots up the tally.

The judging, the weighing, the judicial outcome
all in the balance.
The malfeasance against humanity
and the very planet.

Will there be impartiality?
Maybe.
Will there be compassion?
It depends on the transgression's extent.

The judge is subject to judgment.
Being human- also complicit.
Culpable, if the punishment is unjust.
Who decides? Who is without sin?

The winds at the peak clear the mind.
The chaos is far removed.
The air pierces the mind and breath.
The decision is due.

Sagacity, discernment, and perspicacity 
come to the fore,
and all and sundry are in the dock,
Terror will strike at the core.

Seated on the Chair of Reckoning,
the time has come to weigh the misdeed,
Punishment decided
and imposed with due speed.

It is done.
Penalties imposed.
The Chair of Reckoning
now abandoned for the nonce.


©Ellen Pepper 2026

image credit: freepik