counting black sheep by Marek Lugowski ---------------------------------------------- 19. the state of alabama took a man with an iq of sixty nine strapped him tied him fastened him lodged him secured him isolated him isolated him very very well a bit too well actually... into the electric chair and threw the switch but because of the faulty connection the jolt was not enough to kill him. as he slumped in his chair apparently unconscious workers fixed the cables apologetic workers fixed the cables apologetic state of alabama fixed the cables yo. the people of the great state of alabama rested their judeo-christian case and the people of alabama fixed them christian cables and the switch was thrown again. this time this second time twenty one hundred volts 21 times 10 to the second power dropped on the unbroken heart of mr. franklin dunkins jr. mister heartbreak franklin dunkins. junior. nineteen minutes after his ghastly ordeal had begun, mister dunkins was dead. was dead. was dead. was debt. if this isn't cruel and unusual punishment what is? 59. as governor of california from 1959 to 1967 mister edmund g. (pat) brown. had to decide 59 times to gas or not to gas that is the question. whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the swings and arrows of outrageous... fortune... 2. while we are on this fascinating subject let us recall fondly mister willie francis's execution: mister francis a 17-year old black youth he survived you know. well you didn't know most likely but survive he did you know the first execution. yes sir. now you know. bbbzzzzzzit. ruba dub dub. rub a dub dub. rub a dub dub-dub rub a dub dub. it's willie's day. willie wakes up and willie says... i look around... it's love... i look around again... it's fear... hmm strange dream. a new death warrant was signed and a year later in his second trip to the electric chair the electrifying chair our majesty who art in hell the most electrical chair i am. henry the eighth. henry the eighth henry the eighth i am i am. i am... in chair we thrust i am. he died. kraniec filma. in georgia. in 1984. mister alpha otis stephens struggled for breath for eight minutes that's 8 x 60 seconds equals 480 seconds plus: gentle. men. there is a kind of usual roundoff error in this punishment for after the first two mean-nut surge was administered his cells just had to be scrambled more thoroughly a second time. that's all. mr. raymond landry of texas. december 1988. had the bad malpractice luck of having the lethal injection procedure done such that the needle popped out of his spasming alive muscular forearm oozing the seed of death. rejected by the rigor not quite mortis of this inappropriate and unwilling vagina. yup. well ray's arm ain't no dang pussy. it resisted. pop! squirts the klean phloor with poizonnnnn. poor mr. executioner. poor mr. landry. poor mr. janitor. poor messrs. witnesses. poor ms. justice. she was not yet satisfied... she was not -- fucked well -- no sir. not at all. the needle had to be reinserted and mr. landry had to spasm. for. a few. more. minutes than. one of them nice humane texan bullettes would have takennnnn. ku klux. 3. the question is not what whom when to kill. to kill. to keel. the question is not what whom when they killed. they killed. they kilt. the question is whether those of us who are not criminals want to be responsible for inflicting horrifying acts on them. on them. condemned. 10-4. step right up ladies & gentlemen. step right up! step right. step up. Copyright 1990 Marek Lugowski Published September 1997 Apple and Oranges International Poetry Magazine Maine, USA, Tom Fallon, editor. -- Marek Lugowski editor of A Small Garlic Press 5445 Sheridan Road 3003 Chicago, IL 60640 my home pages: http://www.enteract.com/~marek/ http://homepage.mac.com/marek_lugowski/