A single tear falls from his listless eye
onto the cold, barren floor
of his solitary cell.
His final hour of life nears.
The sound of his child-like cries
echo through the narrow, unadorned hallways.
Each time he closes his eyes
it's the same sordid vision;
her young, lifeless body contorted and violated,
causing bile to rise up into his throat.
He faintly hears the guard announce
"dead man walking",
as he reticently stumbles toward his fate.
One prick of the needle and
he falls into eternal slumber,
leaving behind a wasted life
of sadness and regret,
and a handful of bewildered mourners
with a lifetime of unanswered questions.
