Death Sentence

Because I'm dead I have no rights but one
yet he that murdered me lives on
and, though in prison, still enjoys so much
of what life has to offer such
as comradeship and love of family
while my folk never will see me
again. They scan a void where howls of loss
reverberate but cannot cross.
Adaptable as people are, in time
his life will mould anew, his crime
not punished by the hell of galley slaves
now Human Rights cede much he craves
like decent food, gym, music books, TV -
none of which things can comfort me.
Absent, I am forgotten, my one right
ignored while gradually his plight
gains sympathy for his release. Throughout
imprisonment he has no doubt
he will return at last. My kin and I
have no such hope. He made me die
and yet enjoys some life which is not fair.
"Forgive." they say, which means don't care.
I in eternity cannot forgive;
fairness demands he shall not live.
Because I'm dead, I have no rights but one
which is that justice must be done.