A Lawyer's Uneasy Conscience

Aribam Surjeet Sharma
The verdict had been delivered
And I had won the case,
Fighting for a minister's son
Accused of killing a boy his age.
Cheerful handshakes
And warm embraces in our camp;
Impotent rage, downcast eyes
And tears in the other camp.
I looked at the scale of justice,
Wondering if justice had been done.
Then, across the room,
I espied the boy's mother.
Unexpectedly, our eyes met;
But, I became uneasy to meet her gaze--
A gaze full of pain, hurt and anguish
And silently saying, "at the altar of gold
Justice is being crucified "
I looked away, feeling ashamed
And unable to meet her gaze.
Yes, as professional ethics goes,
I have done nothing wrong.
The minister came to me,
Asked me to fight his son's case
And I accepted the case
Perhaps mainly for the inordinate large fee.
To deliver justice is not my job;
It is a jury's job .
My job is to fight cases and win them.
Now, I won the case.
But still after winning it,
Something keeps tugging at me,
Whispering, "Have you bartered away
Your soul for a few gold bars?"