Capital Punishment – From the Eyes of a Hangman
By Radhika Agrawal

http://www.writerbabu.com/post/4334/capital_punishment_from_the_eyes_of_a_hangman/

Of haunted eyes,
And every man that dies.
Of remorse and penance,
And a guilty conscience.
Of an empty life,
Only full of dread.
Of living in fear
Of what lies ahead.

The words rang in my head,
Another guilty, made it nine.
But as I looked up at the prisoner,
His guilt doubled up with mine.

When I walked down my street,
Their stares bore holes in me.
But they wouldn’t meet my eye,
Afraid of what they’d see.

Yet another night
Of nightmares and shame.
And the morning that followed
Told me reality was the same.

They say that one criminal dead
Is one criminal gone.
But with every man I hang,
A criminal in me is born.

New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve.

By Radhika Agrawal

Thinking about it all,
It’s making me see.
What all I did,
That I could do differently.
But there’s no way I can,
Renovate the way.
The mistakes I’ve made,
Are here to stay.

It’s a funny New Year’s Eve,
The last day of this year.
It came and passed me by,
Left me standing right here.

The beginning, the best,
Couldn’t have asked for more.
Holding the flag up high,
Proud, alive, like never before.

Content with what I had,
The love, frolic, fruition.
Living in the present,
Relishing the action.

Went on unaware,
Of the damage I’d caused.
I never looked back,
Selfishly never paused.

Hurt egos and a lot of pain,
Broken trust was worth the same.
From a carefree little soul,
To everything I became.

But I guess I never learn,
For it hit me yet again.
And hard as I tried,
I couldn’t refrain.

Love washed over me,
Made me live out loud.
I watched the civilisation,
From above the ninth cloud.

And he sang to me,
With his voice so sweet.
Made my heart smile,
And skip a million beats.

I knew I’d love him,
Even before I did.
Didn’t mean to fall so hard,
I was nothing but a kid.

And I got really weak,
Almost gave in.
But I’d always believed,
Deep down, deep within.

I guess I lost myself,
Somewhere down the lane.
But I learned to smile,
Through the unmistakable pain.

Yet I’m standing on top,
Of a mountain of memories.
I’m looking down below,
Smiling, and at ease.

I learned a great deal,
Things I didn’t know before.
And every passing day,
I learn a little more.

Thinking about it all,
It’s making me see.
What all I did,
That I could do differently.
But there’s no way I can,
Renovate the way.
The mistakes I’ve made,
Are here to stay.