Agoloso Presents - Atondido Stories Agoloso Presents - Mama Mada | Page 271

Mama Mada The Hanging Judge by A G Ste p h e ns I am the Judge, the flower of the law, Bolstered in, privileged, all men’s awe; When I am pleased to display my wit The court is a-cackle with joy of it; When my liver is slightly out of order Woe to who crosses me—barrister, warder! How do I rule the obsequious gang? The secret is simple—I always hang! One plant in my legal garden grows: The mandrake’s shriek is the solace I chose; And I water my treasure whenever I can With the blood that drips from a gibbeted man. Justice? Fiddlesticks! Mercy? Fudge! I am the Judge! I am the Judge. I like to dine Before I charge: then, flushed with wine, I bully the jury into submission And rise to the height of judicial ambition. O how I thrill deliciously At the wretch in his anguish under me! I gather my brows in a terrible frown, The slow beads drop from his forehead down; I lower my voice, and my eyes I roll: “The Lord have mercy upon your soul!” He lifts his hands; but—“Sheriff!” I shout, And his knees give way as they drag him out. Into eternity he shall trudge. I am the Judge! I am the Judge. A Judge should be A pattern of humble piety. A week well spent brings Sabbath content: To church my steps are piously bent. When the holy man reads the holy book I grieve for the god, by gods forsook, 266