"Condemned"

     

Fall in, signaled the regimental sergeant major Upon this cold wet Sunday morn, Duty calls my boys, keep your heads up. Forming two ranks moving through the line Left right, left right, left right marching to the square Rifles on shoulders nearly there, Halt, left turn, present arms, single line Facing a man before us, tied hands, at ease What of his sins standing fifty feet in front of this firing squad. Drumrolls, order arms Officers stand tall, charges are read This man is given one last cigarette, Orders are called to this eight man squad, At-tention called the sergeant Rifles at rest, one bullet per man seven good, one blank, who is lucky today. Ready, as the drum rolls for the last time, The priest walks away from the condemned, Last call   Ready,   aim,   fire. Eight fingers pull as one on their triggers Pigeons take flight, as echoes ring loud Slow motion, he falls held only by his ropes Order arms, Right turn Quick march Is ordered in a low voice We march away, duty complete.

gw

Author's Note

Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading (from the French fusil, rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ usually kills the subject relatively quickly. Before the introduction of firearms, bows or crossbows were often used Saint Sebastian is usually depicted as executed by a squad of Roman auxiliary archers in around 288 AD; King Edmund the Martyr of East Anglia, by some accounts, was tied to a tree and executed by Viking archers on 20 November 869 or 870 AD.
A firing squad is normally composed of several soldiers. Usually, all members of the group are instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by a single member and identification of the member who fired the lethal shot. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded, as well as restrained, although in some cases prisoners have asked to be allowed to face the firing squad without their eyes covered. Executions can be carried out with the condemned either standing or sitting. There is a tradition in some jurisdictions that such executions are carried out at first light, or at sunrise, which is usually up to half an hour later. This gave rise to the phrase "shot at dawn".
Execution by firing squad is distinct from other forms of execution by firearms, such as an execution by a single firearm to the back of the head or neck. However, the single shot (coup de gr) is sometimes incorporated in a firing squad execution, particularly if the initial volley turns out not to be immediately fatal.

Reviews

[hardeep sabharwal]

you have described this in a fascinating way,

wars are always brutal, and will always be

[Coyote Poetry]

The poem described war at its worst. Old wars many were killed without proper trial. I like how you described the act. War make men heroes and cowards. Decisions in war left men dead with no story to tell. Thank you for the amazing poem and some history.
Coyote

[Deepwater]

TL thank you for this review just like a soldier

[TL Boehm]

Brutal yet fascinating - and amongst the usual love and angst (I write a lot of angst) here - a bit of history is a welcome change. Love the line about "one blank, who is lucky today" and the progression of the poem. It marches forward completing itself just like the soldier, the task at hand.