Are People Good When They Allow The Innocent To Suffer Poem by James McLain

Are people good when they allow the innocent to suffer

no god would stoop so low,
to break a mind already fragile,
or put innocence in a cell,
let alone make it pay for some sinless crime.

there are ghosts who don't leave,
they cling like smoke,
they stain a man's skin
with the black of all he's seen and felt—
screams sealed inside walls,
eyes kept wide, without sleep.

in prison, the screams bounce back.
you can't shake them.
it's like they're inked into the air.
and the guards look away,
like they don't know.
they see it all, and they know.
the world knows.

outside, people smile over dinner,
but in the dark corners,
they leave you to drown,
to choke on silence and shadows.
they'll all just call it life.