Justice

Herman Sutter

January 14, 2024

Justice is corruptive

corrosive

divisive.

It tolerates a membrane

of resemblance,

derives

temporal subsistence

from decay,

resists

the appearance of

sincerity.

In truth

justice is purified

by facade,

regarded

as ephemeral only

by the judge,

distinct

from the one true man

who never seeks,

only

accepts what is pressed

upon his bruise

as ice.

Herman Sutter (award-winning poet/essayist) is the author of Stations (Wiseblood Books), The World Before Grace (Wings Press), and “The Sorrowful Mystery of Racism,” St. Anthony Messenger. His work appears in: The Perch (Yale University), The Langdon Review, Benedict XVI Institute, Touchstone, i.e., The Merton Journal, as well as: Texas Poetry Calendar (2021) & By the Light of a Neon Moon (Madville Press, 2019). He received the 2021 Best Essay award from the CMA. His recent manuscript A Theology of Need was long-listed for the Sexton Prize.