Old Woman in a Corner

 

Heavy boots hammered down

The empty hallway.

Fists  thundered on the wooden door,

And it fell back easily

Well-oiled.

 

In the sparse room

Three people sat at a plank table

Their veins rigid, blank eyes fixed

On the opening door.

 

In a corner of the cell

Crouched an old woman

Her warped spine braced against the wall.

She was crooning to a young child

Cradled in her lap.

Tiny fingers stroked her withered cheeks

Her quivering lip

As the smiling baby reached for the lullaby

Gently cooing back.

 

All this

In a blood-beat

Through the heart

Through the heart ... through the heart ... through ...

Then

What had to be done

Was done.

 

Cynthia Buell Thomas