Poetry

Reuters photo

By

Linda Eve Diamond

Trial And Error

The victim was her own and only witness.

She took a stand. She swore.

She told the truth, “So help me,”

she cried, “help me…”

as she realized she was on trial.

Witness this box of questions:

Why were you there? What were you wearing?

Isn’t it odd that you didn’t make a formal complaint or file at the time?

You say you feel broken by this but weren’t you, in fact, broken already?

Are you after a payoff or some kind of payback? Are you looking for attention?

Who are you, anyway? Why would anyone believe you?

…and, of course, the questions of concern

for his reputation.

The peering jury and public listened

for yarns to spin, threads baring raw skin,

sarcastic twists, dim wits, laughable quotes,

good sound bites—ones with teeth.

The chorus sang in full disharmony,

that she wasn’t coming off well

as she was…

too quiet, too weak, too forceful, too loud,

too robotic, too angry, too shrill, too cold, too hot,

too trashy, too plain, too flashy, too buttoned-up,

too emotional, too unemotional, too clever, too dumb,

too much, too little, too straight down the middle

…and that was her problem.

Credible evidence was, incredibly, dismissed.

Justice was assaulted, publicly, for all to see.

The offensive defense celebrated

the gripping courtroom trauma

and successful persecution

of the victim.

The victim’s voice had wrung out

and dried up, as she fell back

into a shattered reflection.

She took a seat. She swore,

to herself, a cut-throat vow

of self-preserving silence.

Linda Eve Diamond

Linda Eve Diamond’s poetry, flash fiction, and photographs have been published by a variety of literary journals and websites, including Grey Sparrow Journal, Snow Jewel, Your Daily Poem, The RavensPerch, Sleet, and Gravel.  She has been honored with two awards from The International Listening Association and several poetry awards. Linda Eve’s poetry collections are The Human Experience and The Beauty of Listening. Her website is www.LindaEveDiamond.com.