OJ ON THE CUSP OF JUSTICE

 

OJ Simpson still awaiting trial

For murder of Brown Simpson and R Goldman back in June

Passes New Year's Day in County jail

His public persona assured of success the while

His attorneys bite and claw the courtroom,

 

They finally agree to the truth of DNA

Or at least not to fight it without a jury

Present to witness their insight and essay

So the cup of justice fills apace

To quench anticpation in January,

 

But OJ's celebrity star begins to pale

Against the brilliant crises the public feeds on:

In November the Grand Old Party prevails

Two airmen downed in Korea, the hurtful tale

Of  children mother-drowned and bold Chechnyans,

 

And the tabloids maintain Nicole in mind's eye

At supermarket check-out stands the beauty

Glitters in silk, besides OJ she shines

Beaten black and blue evokes our sighs

And for the departed victim sympathy,

 

Back in court, the jury in sequester

Eight women and four men don't see

Opposing black attorneys argue the word 'nigger'

May impair the jury's judgement nor heard

Sixty kinds of abuse at controversy,

 

Nor F Lee Bailey and Robert Shapiro square off

In sullen disagreement, two white attorneys

On OJ's side, expanded egos boxed

In on the narrow media stage; what of

OJ whose image grows smaller by the day?

 

Will the black man savor a taste of  justice

Or does celebrity affect the end

Will wealth the System improve or prove a weakness

Does media exposure taint all process

How will the verdict move us and what portend?

 

1:95