The Plea

The Plea

By Cleve

He stood before judge and jury

Pleading for his life

For in a drunken stupor

He had killed his wife

And as he stood before them

On this, his judgement day

The courtroom became silent

As these words he began to say

Judge, all I ask, is that you good people

Understand my plea

For although I may be guilty

All the blame shouldn’t rest on me

You see, my father was a drunkard

And his father before him too

So, raised in a den of alcohol

What would anyone expect me to do

But all that changed, Judge

On the day I met my wife

She was loving and caring

And her love changed my life

I worked steady to provide for her

And our son with whom we were blessed

I was an upstanding citizen, Judge

Until the day of my wife’s death

That day work let off early

I got home earlier than planned

Then by chance through our window

I saw her in the arms of another man

I was too shocked to do anything, Judge

I just silently walked away

But I ended up in a bar where

I spent the rest of the day

It was like I’d never stopped drinking

The drink went to my head

I got stinking drunk, Judge

And by that night, by my hand, my wife was dead

The judge at first said nothing

A tear escaped his eye

I understand, son, he said

And the judge sentenced him to life