Poem: Law is Not Justice

A trite title for what (I think) is quite an elegantly thought through poem.

Law is Not Justice Law may be the crutch with which we prevent ourselves from staggering in the uneven search for justice And yet we are so like benign drunks, stepped over cautiously, unaware in our need for peaceful sleep, that law is not justice No more than peace is the absence of war or bread alone makes a banquet I find, as you find, inequalities in the pages of my daily paper, momentary unease a sense of helplessness, frustration Yet laws are given of men and justice must be taken Paraphrasing Anatole France the majestic equality of the law forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread And where I ask is justice in that? If law is the opposite of anarchy, then what opposes justice but the need in all of us to stand apart, somehow above our fellow man Rich will drive and poor be driven, one to home and one to jail The bread of law calling itself a banquet So arbitrate, interpret, determine and decide the work of juries and the judges, who are called justices as well, without the slightest trace of irony Speed laws may not make of us skilled drivers yet with dedication, hours behind the wheel we may yet navigate a route to justice

This poem is included in Jim Freeman's poetry collection BROKEN PIECES available here in print or as an e-Book in your favorite formats.