"On Experimental Conditions / Cruel and Unusual Experiences," "Again," and "Cruel and (Not) Unusual Experiences"

On Experimental Conditions
/ Cruel and Unusual Experiences

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.