Two-Pound Torch

The courtroom was packed as the verdict was delivered
The quiet defendant sat paralysed in disbelief
Her hands would be severed, she would be hung and then burnt

I turned to console her but she was already being ushered away
Her life had never been an easy one
Forced to procreate like beasts in dark stables
She wept whenever she laid her head down to sleep

To escape would be her only refuge
From this trivial life she had been forced to lead
Her lover's empty promises
Drove her towards these drastic measures
Her timeline was ticking with the spring thaw quickly approaching
Aware that she would be whisked away with the free flowing currents

She had to react

The tiny witness who pointed her out
Giggles today as she walks towards the schoolhouse
But Angelique had no freedom ever since that gavel fell
The shovel full of coals is what persuaded the judge

At the gallows she stood before them
With quivering lips she begged for absolution
But when the hangman tripped the switch
Her body finally fell towards its fate
Afterwards the empty carcass was flunt upon the pyre
Her neighbors and comrades all watched as the hem of her skirt ignited
They all cheered with glee as the flames consumed her