The Law In Crisis Poem Rhyme Scheme

Poet's note: About the Poem: The Law in Crisis The Law in Crisis is a reflective and satirical superior court poem that explores the decay of justice within a legal system once regarded as sacred and impartial. The poem presents the law not as an abstract institution but as a living, wounded character struggling under corruption, political interference, and moral compromise. The central theme of the poem is the deterioration of justice. The courtroom, traditionally a symbol of fairness and order, is portrayed as weakened and manipulated. The image of the “gavel coughing” immediately establishes a tone of exhaustion and decline. Justice is no longer powerful; it is fragile and compromised. One of the strongest features of the poem is its extended metaphor. The Law is compared to: a shepherd in borrowed sandals, symbolizing leadership without authority or integrity; a river in drought, suggesting that justice has dried up and can no longer sustain society; a lighthouse that flickers, indicating inconsistency in protecting the vulnerable. These metaphors deepen the emotional weight of the poem and reinforce the crisis within the legal system. The poem also uses parables to communicate its message. The story of the farmer whose fence is destroyed by termites from beneath symbolizes internal corruption. The danger is not always external enemies but internal decay. Likewise, the judge who plants a tree of verdicts that later bears bitter fruit represents how corruption contaminates even well-intentioned institutions. There is strong use of personification throughout. Justice adjusts her blindfold, the constitution bleeds, the gavel coughs. These human qualities make the legal system feel alive, making its suffering more relatable and tragic. Imagery plays a vital role. Phrases like “golden thumbs pressing the scales” and “bribes mixed in the rain” create vivid pictures of corruption. The sensory details allow the reader to see and feel the imbalance. The tone shifts between lamentation and hope. While much of the poem mourns the fall of justice, it does not end in despair. The final images of a surviving seed and roots remembering water introduce cautious optimism. This suggests that reform is still possible if integrity is restored. In essence, the poem is both a critique and a call to restoration. It challenges leaders, judges, and citizens to reflect on their moral responsibility in upholding justice. The crisis is not presented as permanent but as a condition that demands courage, accountability, and renewal.

The Law In Crisis is a poem by Obed Yadzo. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.

The Law in Crisis	A
	-
The gavel no longer sings in oak and iron	B
it coughs	C
A tired thunder rolling across tiled floors	D
startling only dust and distant echoes	E
In the high chambers where truth once wore white	F
Justice adjusts her blindfold	G
not to keep from seeing	H
but to keep from weeping	H
	-
The scales tremble	I
Not from wind but from invisible fingers	J
pressing down with golden thumbs	K
I have seen the Law	L
like a shepherd in borrowed sandals	M
counting sheep that are not his	N
while wolves draft constitutions in the dark	O
	-
I have seen the Law	L
like a river in drought	P
its bed cracked with promises	Q
fish gasping in clauses and sub clauses	Q
They say the court is a temple	I
But what is a temple	I
when the altar sells incense to the highest bidder	R
What hymn shall we sing	H
when the choir has pawned its hallelujah	S
	-
Once there was a farmer	R
he built a fence to guard his yams	T
But termites came from beneath	U
not over	R
So he stood all night chasing shadows	E
while the earth itself betrayed him	V
That farmer is our Justice System	W
	-
Once there was a judge	X
who planted a tree of verdicts	Y
He watered it with statutes	Z
pruned it with precedent	A2
and guarded it with conscience	B2
But one season the fruit grew bitter	R
Not because of the soil but because bribes were mixed in the rain	C2
	-
O Law daughter of parchment and fire	R
when did you become a mirror	R
reflecting only the faces of the powerful	I
When did your sword turn butter soft	D2
before the necks of giants yet sharpen itself	E2
against the wrists of the poor	F2
	-
In the corridors whispers breed like rats	G2
Files vanish like prophets in exile	H2
Truth stands outside barefoot waiting for a clerk to remember her name	I2
The constitution once a covenant is now flutters like a flag stitched with convenient amendments	J2
Its ink bleeds at election time	K2
I write this not as accusation alone	L2
but as lamentation	L2
For a house divided by loopholes	M2
cannot stand against the storm	N2
	-
The Law was meant to be a lighthouse	O2
Instead it flickers guiding ships of privilege to safe harbors	J
while the rafts of the voiceless	A
split upon procedural rocks	P2
Yet still in the rubble of rulings and recesses	Q
a seed survives	Q2
For even in drought	P
roots remember water	R
Even in eclipse	R2
the sun rehearses return	L2
Let the gavel find its thunder again	L2
Let the scales forget the weight of gold	G
Let blindfolded Justice	A
learn to see with conscience	B2
For when the Law is healed	S2
the nation breathes	T2
When the court stands upright	F
the people walk unafraid	U2
Until then	L2
we remain	L2
citizens of a courtroom in crisis	A
praying that parchment	A2
may yet become promise again	L2

Obed Yadzo

The Law In Crisis Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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