Abbey-Rose Chivers

LIFE IS SACRED

The walk to the chair is not silent.
Chains clink, too happy.
They revel in his misery.
So too, do the others,
whisper, whisper.
Look, there he goes,
They finally got him,
Down he goes.
They're better than him,
Of course they are.
Though their fate is the same still,
they laugh as the chains
Clink clink.
Such morbid joy must be a crime,
Surely?
To smile as the straps are tightened.
Life is sacred, no one can claim it,
apart from the state and the crowds
that cheer and clap as the lever comes down.
Coloured lights illuminate the dark morning sky,
A celebration, a celebration of death.
But he is fearful, shaking,
no longer a killer.
A prisoner, a number.
Dignity shaven like the hair from his head.
He is terrified, but still they cheer.
He is dying, but still they cheer.


Abbey-Rose reads "Life is Sacred":



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Abbey-Rose confesses: "I was inspired by the injustice of capital punishment and the willingness of the public to put criminals to death, essentially supporting the very thing they oppose."

ABBEY-ROSE CHIVERS is 27 and a full-time mum of one. She has been writing for ten years, dabbling in short stories and poetry, and is currently working passionately on her debut, a grimdark adventure set on an almost empty world. She has been shortlisted in Writing Magazine but is still hoping for a win.