"On Experimental Conditions / Cruel and Unusual Experiences," "Again," and "Cruel and (Not) Unusual Experiences"
On Experimental Conditions
/ Cruel and Unusual Experiences
punishment | takes on patterns | of a nation |
behind | bars of a | generation |
juries | deliberate | conditions | revisited |
vote | to spare | spars | ignited |
overruled | decisions | motions | lotions |
straps | gurneys | inspections | injections |
morning | mourning | misses | wishes |
missing | amidst | system | failures |
punishment | spirals | trial | by error |
fevers | fervors | veins | poked |
pockets | picked | claims | in vain |
stakes | stack | robes | deliberate |
final | plates | steak | potatoes |
early | hours | digestive | issues |
court | filings | anxious | waits |
weights | organized | official | rulings |
clocks | tick | clothing | stripped |
muscles | creak | water | fountains |
drip | tears | birds | caw |
phones | call | endings | anticipate |
experimental | gases | gross | negligence |
wrenching | stays | denials | dissents |
dissidents | flames | fires | media |
piles | vans | caravan | last |
rites | final | nights | writhes |
pulls | restraints | condemnation | broken |
men | nitrogen | seeps | puddles |
prayers | bleed | protocols | seethe |
no more night | the state of a nation | a final flight |
rights on wings | of the distant crow | come moonlight |
Again
twice
the man’s body is strapped to the gurney
twice
his last words are documented for eternity
the Constitution promises
no cruel and unusual punishment
an Alabama prison preps
to administer nitrogen untested
twice
the man consumes a final meal
steak, eggs, and hash browns
served at ten AM, to reduce
the risk of vomiting
on the day of the man’s second visit
to the death chamber, he is denied
liquids after four
when the man was found guilty
of murder for hire, a jury recommended
life without parole – a judge
overruled the people’s desire
twice
the man prays to a higher power
while escorted to a death chamber
twice
the nation’s highest court is asked to issue a stay
twice
the media gathers to report on the fray
again the Court writes their own answer
the phone rings
-- Go Ahead
twice
last rites are read
precaution
in the event of another error
for two minutes,
the man writhes and struggles
twice
clock hands complete full circles
heavy breaths slow
cruel and unusual punishment still, moments ago
Cruel
and (Not) Unusual Experiences
In nursery school,
I first learned of the periodic
table of elements and consumed
elementary lessons on flight, cruelty,
and unusual punishments.
On the asphalt playground,
we’d create shadow puppets
and play rounds of jacks.
Recess and its misunderstood
exams and games of chance
were prized and despised.
We’d dodge balls
and trace figures, arms wide,
with sidewalk chalk, always aware
of aides that watched as they lined
the perimeter of concrete courts.
“Don’t lose track of the balloon’s flight,”
they’d caution. “Latex is harmful to unsuspecting birds.”
Plights unknown.
Invisible gases bear visible harm.
I first learned of the mysterious
powers of gas as a young girl.
Friends and I would inhale
whatever warmth the interior
of a balloon concealed, then giggle
as our voices altered.
higher
lighter
A stranger amongst us.
Hi
Hello
We’d watch the balloons in flight.
Erratic movements
Choppy waltzes
Eventually the balloons lost life.
writhed
zigged
zagged
Uncertain journeys
Rocky flight
We’d count a full two minutes
as deflated armor returned
to the ground at our feet.
Now, I think of nitrogen hypoxia
and shudder as I pass a small bird
on the asphalt walk.
In desperate
need of nursing –
Invisible harms,
harmful terms
the gas not allowed
for euthanasia of animals.
Experimental tests
Untested outcomes
Let loose like balloons
and their unknown forms.
On morning radio,
a reporter fills the air with
cold facts
as news of the execution is told.
A body strapped
writhed
shook spooked
previously poked
Onlookers count
a full two minutes
until breath returned,
then left.
A mourning dove calls as I walk.
I pause,
pick up a discarded balloon
from the foot of an oak
and its broken limbs,
then pray for two minutes.
Altered states of matter
Unheard of terror
A society
ever more comfortable
with what’s cruel
and increasingly
not unusual
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/us/kenneth-smith-nitrogen-gas-execution-alabama/index.html
Reflection: As history is made in the most cruel and unusual ways, the path is paved for increasingly inhumane days.
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Jen Schneider is an educator who lives, writes, and works in small spaces throughout Pennsylvania. Recent collections include 14 (Plus) Reasons Why (free lines press), Evening Walks (Ethel Zine), and Months, Moments, & Mileage in the Rearview Mirror (Alien Buddha Press). She recommends Philly ASAP.