Looking back

he sees

his life spent

watching

one body

after another

falling

breathing

desperately

pleading

to the last gasp

as his fee kept growing

larger with the workload

still

justice

lives on

yes, indeed

it was decreed

that the executioner

must also suffer

the sorrow

of those he sent

swinging

the eternal storm

blowing rain into

a crowded room

as all around his bed

his victims

are gathering

their features reflecting

in the gathering shadow

where the hangman faces

his own end

beginning