6:30Iustitia sine prudentia
multum potest
They covered my eyes
before the mortar dried
Put measure in one hand
iron in the other
For years
the square knew my stillness
Tonight
someone climbs
The court is in session
Boot leather on the cornice
breath against my shoulder
Fingers close around the hilt
Stone gives at the wrist
He whispers my name
before the metal leaves me
Below
one window opens
then another
The measure stays in my hand
No one reaches for it
My name fits every mouth
my iron fits every hand
They shout me down the stairwells
they chalk me on the doors
The measure hangs untouched
high above the square
My name fits every mouth
and passes with the blade
Justice
Justice
Justice
A table strikes the pavement
someone calls it a bench
A photograph is laid flat
someone asks for witness
A voice says guilty
Another says sentence
Metal leaves one hand
and enters another
Farther down the street
another table hits the stone
The court is in session
My name fits every mouth
my iron fits every hand
They shout me down the stairwells
they chalk me on the doors
The measure hangs untouched
high above the square
My name fits every mouth
and passes with the blade
Justice
Justice
Justice
I cannot see who started it
That was once the virtue
I know the square by echoes now
One side speaks my name
The other answers with it
One hand leaves the metal
another closes
The word comes back each time
wearing a different mouth
My name fits every mouth
the iron knows every hand
Every street has built its bench
every bench has found its blade
My empty wrist faces the square
My name moves street to street
By morning
they have said it everywhere
until I cannot hear
which voice was mine
Morning reaches the steps
The iron does not return
The measure rocks beside me
rain gathering in both pans
Below
the tables stand abandoned
The chalk stays on the doors
Far beyond the roofs
something answers once