blind

Justice is blind today
not as as she is intended
(to race gender creed
wallet)
but to Truth
they are strangers here
in a system no longer bent
on protecting the innocent
punishing the guilty

she must be lying
they say
apparently a marine is incapable
of crimes like this
he fought for his country
and therefore is infallible

we all know no military man has ever raped a woman
it's unheard of

and because he did not break and beat her
physically
(the damage to her soul and psyche
doesn't test in a forensic lab)
she must be lying

she must have wanted to endure those hours
of questioning
probing
swabbing
repeating again and again
the words she could barely force through trembling lips

she must have wanted to rip apart the only home she had
lose her friend
the sister closer than any of dna
lose the father figure who only hours before
had sworn were she a year younger he would adopt her
lose it all
when they could not choose between her
and their flesh and blood

she must have wanted the pain

i saw the emptiness in her eyes
i heard the story of those days
i felt the reality of her words
(as did the officer who wrote them down
i saw his eyes too)
my stomach churned
bile rose to my tongue
a stench like sulfur and brimstone
the work of hell in a suburban home

but now
out of his hands
out of mine
others make the call

and she
lost
broken
beaten
abandoned by family again and again

has given up
called it off
walked away

Evil once more has won

and i
i have lost my faith
(or rather
my naivete)
in a system so broken
so biased

so blind