John Cooke (May He Burn In Hell) Poem by Sidi Mahtrow

Lawyers have not always been charged with the best of reason,
As example when John Cooke tried Charles I for 'treason'
The crime for which the King was held, was failure to separate
Church from State and on this basis, he met his fate.

Yet Cooke overlooked the trials and tribulations of Oliver C
As just the way it was done in those, the times of excesses
Finally Cromwell became more a despot than the old King
And the common man helped the monarchy to regain.

So it was when Charles II once was restored to his royal position,
That John Cooke found himself in a most precarious situation.
Now charged as he had charged before,
With treason and even more.

Separating body from head seemed much too
Mild a punishment for the lawyer and his crew.
So he was to be hung, slowly so he could enjoy
The torments of the crowd as they did toy.
His family jewels they removed that day
And cast them to dogs that were astray.

The rest is difficult to report as punishment
As was most cruel in those days of torment.
Christian apathy was the rule
And the disembowelment was most cruel.

Yet as we consider the lawyer's place
In being the advocate of those in the devil's embrace,
We must be reminded that they may gain their place
In the halls of Justice that they now deface.

So it is with the ACLU that speaks from both sides of it's mouth
Said to be protecting the underdog against the crowd's wrath,
They oft times forget the fate of lawyer - John Cooke
And are seen to cast a despairing look
At Justice, as they mock, 'it's within the law.'
Seeking self righteous vindication for one and all.

They tear down the very civilization
Which has been our salvation
And attack the very foundation
Of this a Christian Nation.

Sneering at those that have religious beliefs
As outmoded in this, the modern world of 'thiefs'
(Sorry, should have been thieves but it doesn't rhyme,
Maybe, some other time.)

One might read 'The Tyrannicide Brief' by Geoffrey Robertson to gain perspective on the life and times of John Cooke. Pantheon Press,2006.