12 Angry Men

There are many people that never step foot in a court room let alone get on the witness stand or become a part of a jury. I must tell you, it is not what you see on Television. The film 12 Angry Men is the closest thing I've seen to a realistic potrayal of a court trial. My experience in court angered me. I wish I could say it was because the guy on trial was black and the system didn't work because of that reason, but the guy on trial was white and the system didn't work because he was not, in my opinion, tried by a jury of his peers.

12 Angry Men stars Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, Jack Warren, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman and Edward G. Robinson to name a few. It's a great piece of drama set in the juries chambers as 12 Men deal with their own personal demons to come up with the right verdict.

After my experience in court, I wrote this poem. The original title was a Jury of Whose Peers, but the New Orleans Poetry forum suggested I change the title. It was the least I could do since they found nothing else wrong with the poem. I rarely change anything, but I decided to do it this time. About 2 dozen of my poems are in the Archives at Loyola University under the New Orleans Poetry forum. That's what they told me anyway. Because of the way the journal is set up, after each comma it would be another line. This poem was written in 1999.

                                                A Jury of Whose Fears

Imagine being twenty nine, convicted of a crime, does not matter what it is, your fate, Is in the jury's hands, None of them homeless, they don't use drugs, in excessive amounts, not single or twenty nine, A jury of your peers, what kind of bullshit is that?, Mother would always say, "Our friends are not your friends, mind your own business." Who is right? Who is wrong? All of your greatest fears, A jury of your peers, Forget it, represent yourself, Twelve angry men, A vision comes to mind, Who are these people? A grey haired man, A professional, A woman resembles, your mother, What do they know, can they relate? I think not, They see a criminal, That is all, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, A victim once themselves? Perhaps, Convict the sonofabitch!, No matter what the crime, no one wants to know you, lost in the system, A jury of your peers, Someone's greatest fear.

Thanks for stopping by, Keep an open mind. Tonights movie, One flew over the Cukoos Nest.