Public Execution Poem by Tor Magnor Solvang

The cameras set a heavy stage,
A turning back of history's page.
The lights go dim, the signal clears,
To feed the hunger and the fears.

Once a beacon, burning bright,
Held the torch to guide the night.
Now the shadows stretch and grow,
In the harsh and hollow glow.

The dignity we held so dear,
Dissolves within the public sneer.
A nation lost, a hollow shell,
Descending down this private hell.

The world retreats and turns its gaze,
From these mean dark and brutal ways.
What once was proud is cast aside,
With nowhere left for us to hide.

The screens turn on in the quiet room,
To watch a life meet sudden doom.
The cameras track the final breath,
To make a spectacle of someone's death.

Where once a torch held up the light,
The shadows grow across the night.
The laws of old, once meant to save,
Now dig a deep and hollow grave.

The world looks on with heavy eyes,
As honor falls and mercy dies.
From guiding star to falling stone,
A nation walks the dark alone.