[Crystal]

 

“Agents of the law,”

grumbled Donald one evening,

“do not make judgements

 

concerning justice being

applied when making arrests.”

 

He could not sit still.

He paced as his mind raced wild.

“The child arrested

 

for malicious destruction 

of property was justly

 

defending herself

against a vicious person

over twice her age.”

 

Wanting to temper his rage

I proposed he pay her bail

 

and offer his skills

to help her scale her problem

of avoiding jail.

 

We could put in motion the

R J P resolution

 

for intervention

by community actions

designed to offset

 

incarceration with her

solemn participation

to accept, complete

and honor each precept penned

to mend offenses

 

concretely and tangibly.

We will use this talking stick

 

to facilitate

the dynamic of free speech

and abate discord

 

procured via disruptions

of others deep reflections.

 

When one finishes,

pass it to the left until

another wishes

 

to share their relative points

no matter how explosive,

 

explicative or

offensive others may feel 

your words might conceal.

 

Honesty’s the remedy

for the best discourse as we

 

seek our best course 

to navigate this verbal,

crucial intercourse.

 

To my left is Robert (Bob) 

Winston. When sorely perplexed

 

to convert vexed words

into a universal

context to avert

animosity eating

away common ground found through

 

persistent hard work,

I rely on the skill of

Bob’s consilience,

 

the consequence of his broad

knowledge, to bridge rival views.

 

Next, Donald is one

deft investigator both

mentally as well

 

as physically for sure

to secure true offenders

 

who need behaviors

modified. William Hastings

is Tina’s lawyer, 

 

a good choice for a strong voice 

in her corner to bolster

 

thoughtfulness needed

to address incongruence

in social justice.

 

Carl Jackson is the bastion 

shielding the D A’s wishes.

 

Then, there are some who

refuse to loose to abuse

spewed from venomous

 

two legged snakes that forsake

gentleness and kindness for

fear, deception and

unbridled betrayal to 

acquire power. 

 

These three will never concede

to be enslaved mentally

 

or physically.

They have been tried and tested.

Kevin Jacobs with

 

Bree Worthington, together,

begun a challenge they won

 

without any doubt.

Along with Joseph Ward these

three award us with

 

our fair community’s

encounter with the unjust.

 

Between Joseph and

Tina sits Shannon Hastings.

If Tina agrees

 

Shannon decrees that she will

mentor Tina as she heals

 

the dark rift that split

her young soul from the whole of

the warm, supportive

 

feeling Bartholomew stole

for his sole corrupt pleasure.

 

I have spoken with

Tina several times and

she’s open to shun

stoicism as fulcrum

to leverage away tough

 

challenges of the

disadvantaged underdog.

She can choose to use

 

my bulldog crew eschewed from

shy meekness to stand steady,

 

strong and tenacious

to address with boldness acts

breeding injustice.

 

This tiny circle portends

the amazing miracle

 

of humans growing

beyond crippling fondness

of competition.

 

This group convenes as a means

for support to help Tina

 

recoup lost treasures

that measure the prospering

of her rising well

 

above the hell imposed by

ignorance or by her lost

 

naiveté and

innocence to learn Life’s harsh,

imposed consequence

of necessity being

the mother of invention.

 

Tina, you are free

to chose cooperation’s

best inspirations.

 

All here, meet Tina Mason’s

situation and I pass.

 

[Donald]

 

The concrete facts are:

At seventeen, Tina smashed

glass to sweetly beat

 

Bartholomew’s ego with

a five pound maul to windshield,

 

windows and headlights,

a frightful sight for Bart, signed

with “Kiss off Bart ! T.

 

splashed across the back window

in blood-red lipstick cutting

 

him to the quick with

his new Audi disfigured.

This act was triggered

 

when she was just eleven

going on twelve to struggle

 

for some affection

after her booze infused dad

shelved his family

in an irate frightening

whirlwind when she was just eight.

 

Then this twenty-nine

year old hid his lust to thrust

her into his cold

 

calculated deceptions

fueled with intoxications

 

as is the standard

for sexual predators.

Six years harbored hate

 

and confusion when mingled

with pure physical pleasure.

 

I paid Tina’s bail

because all adults failed her.

She was certainly

 

her only defense against

child, sexual cruelty.

 

[William Hastings]

 

When Donald asked me

to handle the tangled threads

of Tina’s dreaded,

 

pending, legal battle, I 

surmised she should speak the truth

 

about the uncouth

behavior of Bart to start

investigations

by prosecutors worthy

of a profession destined

 

to avert blood feuds.

Bartholomew’s best attempt 

to skirt his grim crime

 

is seven weeks from Thursday.

Mister Jackson will convey

 

The D A’s consent

for the official decree

sealing what we’ve done

 

to offset injustices

some may, or may not, regret

 

and social order

requires respect for rights

and freedoms to be

 

equally retained by each

and all citizens without

 

feigned sincerity.

 

[Carl]

 

Tina’s unrestrained, strong, rage

might be coherent,

 

but society can’t gage

legal consequence upon

 

emotional angst.

When all is said and done, she

can’t run from fixing