A Judge That You Must Know Poem by RIC BASTASA

He wears a black robe
To cover his burning heart
It is burning to
The fires of justice

He carries a hammer
Of wood
Not steel
Not iron
It cannot really kill
It is only for the keeping of
Peace and order
To all men
Who want to listen to
Reason
To all those who believe
That conflicts can
Be resolved
In calm dispositions

He sits on his bench
His eyes
Weighing
The evidence on
Fair scales of justice

There shall be no bias
There shall be no prejudice

After a hearing
After a patient listening
This man of proven
Competence, possessing
Integrity, probity of mind,
And independence in thought
Lets the hammer fall
Wealth may shift
Liberties may be lost
Properties forfeited
Positions lost

Litigations end
The guilty is sent to prison
The innocent is set free
Those who have less in life
Shall have more in law

Justitia nemini neganda est

Justice is to be denied to none.
And justice shall have been rendered

This is the judge that I want you to know

He carries no gun no bodyguards to
Secure his life, not much money to
Buy him his flashy car or build his mansion
No large sums in secret accounts
No free vacations to the Bahamas Islands
No free meals no free plane tickets

He is rich with justice he breathes justice
His every atom in his body embodies

Justice and the fair rules of this eternal quest

Justice
equity
compassion
understanding

& above all

Love.