Seemed a decent chap
You know, considering,
Laughed and joked,
Played cards a lot,
Seemed to be taking it well;
Padre came and left some bible tracts
He ignored at first
But after his Appeal went west,
Asked me to read them to him
Over and over again.
Then he got moody,
Asked the time a lot:
That last night was the worst,
Governor told him: No reprieve.
He took it quiet.No screams.
No shouting.
Just stood there rigid
And pissed himself.
I always thought
They give them something
To knock them out; but no
So we sat there all night,
Him sobbing now and it’s
Will it hurt? as the hours
Chimed by on some distant clock
And when it was time
And they came in, grabbed him,
Bound his wrists and just before
They dragged him out to face the drop
He looked at me, just looked at me.
It was dead on nine o’clock.
.
Kevin Patrick McCann
Illustration Nick Victor
A new book of poems