10 2017 Jury Duty

Jury Duty
by Paul Sanford

“Off with her head” the queen cried.
No jury trial here.
But I am called for jury duty.
I don’t want to order any heads cut off.
Oh No, it’s up to me to decide.
Who is telling the truth?
Are the police discriminating against this person?
Where is Justice?

I hate meetings and committees.
What will happen if I disagree with the other 11 jurors?
Will they be angry with me?
Should I try to persuade them?

Oh oh oh. It’s just a straight forward case.
Try to look at it the way most people do.
It’s my civic duty.
I’m a fair minded person, intelligent and empathetic.
Maybe they won’t want me because I’m bipolar.
How dare they discriminate against the mentally ill!
I’ll be on that jury just to show them about equality!

I hope I can stay awake without fidgeting.
Will I get in trouble if I don’t behave the way they want?
Ironic if I am on the jury and wind up in jail.
I wouldn’t be happy in jail.
Nobody is happy in jail.
No jail for anybody.
“Off with his cuffs!”
Everybody gets a free pass from Paul today.

It says here to go online to check whether I am needed.
That’s a nice touch.
I don’t want to be waiting in some jury room all day.
They say to check back to see if I’m needed in the afternoon.
I’m feeling a bit disappointed.

I’m excused. I’ve fulfilled my obligation for this year.
I feel a combination of relief and disappointment.

Don’t judge me, and I won’t jury you.