Not Guilty By The Hour Poem by Sylvia Chidi

‘Guilty or not guilty’, he asks

She says, ‘Not guilty by the hour’
Her face looking very sour
Not guilty by the day
If you look at things my way

I stand here a bruised flower
Helplessly ripped of all her power
Dreading been subjected
To another punishing shower

If today I am jailed
Then society has failed
It is he who should have been long nailed

So she says, ‘Not guilty by the hour’
Her face looking very sour
Not guilty by the day
If you look at things my way

Many a time I have cried
Knowing how hard I’ve tried
A victim of domestic violence
Dismissed by all as nonsense
Ignoring my pleas by pretence
Enduring yearly beatings and mental abuse
Even my public cries seemed to be of no use
As I stand before you all wrongly accused

With my very own hands
I have taken away a life
Without the use of a knife

But I’m not guilty by the hour
Her face looking very sour
Not guilty by the minute
If you take your time and sit
Examine every fact without prejudice bit by bit
Not guilty by the day
If you look at things my way

For with the drunkenness of a violent man
Sprung the madness of an innocent woman
Yet I profess to be hundred percent human

Copyright 2006 - Sylvia Chidi