The Sounds of Execution

The dull thud of leather boots
Hitting the wooden steps with each climbing stumble.
The jeering and yelling of the audience
As the man walks up the creaking planks.
The slight metallic scratching
As the steel guillotine is raised.
The heavy thump of the wooden restraint
Forcing the man’s head underneath the blade.
The monotonous voice of the prosecutor
Reading from a weathered paper why the man is to die.
The slight whir of the rope as it is released,
And the sickening thwack of the guillotine
Separating the man’s head from his body.
The spattering of blood.
The silence.