A Trial Of Souls
In the court of conscience
In the court of conscience right stands
clad in robes of pure light
its voice a gavel striking
echoes of truth reverberate hard
through the purity of spirits
Wrong skulks in shadows
cloaked in deception’s silk
its whispered words serpent-like
coiling around reason
tightening its grip with every plea
Equity sits as judge
weighing the scales
its eyes blindfolded
seeing not the face but the soul
its verdicts carved in stone
Justice holds the scales
one hand raised in benediction
the other poised to strike
its breath is the Lex talionis
an eye for an eye a soul for a soul
Lex Talionis is a Latin term that refers to the law of retribution, in which a penalty is meted out per the nature and severity of the offense. Lex refers to “a set of rules or regulations”. Talionis translates as “of such a nature.”
Truth is the witness
taking the stand in every trial
swearing by the sacred text of virtue
its testimony a sharp-edged blade
cutting through the fog of lies
Falsehood cross-examines
crafty and cunning
casting doubt with every question
its arguments built on sand
crumbling under weight of scrutiny
Rectitude argues the case
with a voice like thunder
its words a lexicon of morality
precedents set in the annals of honor
binding contracts written in the blood of martyrs
Iniquity objects
sneering at the sanctity of vows
its rhetoric a web of sophistry
leading the mind astray
into the wilderness of perdition
Fate is the jury
deliberating in silence
its decision final and irrevocable
delivering its sentence
in the solemn language of destiny
Redemption files an appeal
seeking clemency in the court of the divine
its petition a prayer for absolution
written in the ink of contrition
sealed with the tears of repentance
Damnation waits
a bailiff at the door
ready to escort the guilty
into the depths of despair
its chains clinking with anticipation
The gavel falls
in the courtroom of existence
right and wrong forever interlinked
their struggle a perpetual trial
in the tribunal of the soul
Justice is served
in the balance of life’s scales
each act a testimony
each choice a verdict
written in the eternal book of judgment
forever noted as a precedent
Justitia nemini neganda est
(Justice is to be denied to no one)Lex non a rege est violanda
(The law must not be violated even by the King)
