The Reckoning

 

We ran as long as we could –
Thought to thought thinking
Whether to eat this, run some
More, listen to someone different.
But being guilty we knew there
Must come a day when the
Executioner would appear.

He placed the mask over her face,
Turned on the oxygen and told us
To wait, “Just a few days”;
She must endure it.  There
Would be no reprieve.  We
Knew it.  She took it without
A whimper, and walked out

Proudly before them.  She
Threw off her mask to
Stand with an amused look.  A
Cigarette dangled from her lips;
She gave me a wink. 
“Everything’s okay,” were her
Last words.  “Everyone does it.”