9 May 2009 | Vol. 9, No. 1
death is but a bad half hour to the wicked
hands still reeking
a respite till the following day
in England
where a greater number suffer
than in any other country
most criminals
exhibit on the scaffold
to suffer in this way
for the cause of truth?
awakened
a just sense
of enormity
no executions Sunday
to prepare for another world
this fixed flaw
About the author:
Jeff Encke's work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Black Warrior Review, Colorado Review, Double Room, Fence, Poet Lore, Quarterly West, Salt Hill, Tarpaulin Sky, and 3rd Bed, among others. He has taught creative writing and literary criticism at both Columbia University in New York and Richard Hugo House in Seattle.
"Aziz Salih Al-Numan," "Latif Nusayyif Jasim Al-Dulaymi," and "Sa'd Abdul-Majid Al-Faisal Al-Tikriti" are part of a book-length series entitled Most Wanted; each addresses a figure from the Iraq's Most Wanted deck published by the Department of Defense in March 2003. Short phrases from these poems also appear on the playing cards of a custom-designed deck, which has been included in several exhibitions, including a visual poetry show at Harvard University in March 2005. Additional information about the project is available online at http://www.matlub.net/fulldeck.
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by Jeff Encke at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 9, No. 1, where "death is but a bad half hour to the wicked" ran on May 9, 2009. List other work with these same labels: poetry.
