The Executioner's Axe

The Executioner's Axe
Yong Wan Choi 05.10.06

On the road where crime and punishment roam in herds,
bound along with stream and mountain wind,
drums beating, the gong ringing loud,
masked and dancing, he makes the condemned man laugh

Behind the laughter, weeping trails long after
onlookers crowd in, setting their souls down
eyes watching with breath held for one moment

At the last hoarse word of the chanted spell
he lifts the axe high toward the silent sky
and the faces turn away for a moment into the empty air

At the flash of the blade, crime and punishment are cut apart
heaven and earth severed, rolling on the dirt

The trembling echo of the sound left behind
rings on in the shape of a guiltless guilt
and the executioner's axe dances through every age
crossing the pass on the endless road of evil (惡)