Gentlemen, My Verdict

A poetic response to "Gentlemen, Your Verdict"

A guilty man or not

A respectable man he is

Commanded with firm and calm

When the submarine was shuddered by bomb.

When the crew stumbled and feared
When the death was creeping near
When the facts were transmitted via radio
He saw a dreadful yet practical scenario:

Instead of twenty desperate men gasping for air,
Five men could go home and unite with the families of theirs
Yet the remaining fifteen would never see the light
or their loved ones laughing in delight.

What a cruel and stressful decision he had to make!
With neither option desirable and both fatal.
Nevertheless he chose,
as the slim of hope for survival was drawing to a close.

The captain assembled the men for a last speech
and thanked them for their dedication
and company along the journey
Every man raised his cup and drank without knowing
that his purpose was fulfilled and his life was ending
Death arrived in an instant yet left 6 men standing:

Five married men and the captain himself,
who informed the men of their hard job
is to wait and continue to serve the country
while bearing the burden and guilt within themselves.
The captain declared that the entire responsibility is his
then he embraced Death and joined the crew of his

Dear ladies and gentlemen, my verdict is not guilty
Despite the unlawful act for sacrificing fifteen lives for five
The nature of humanity and a series of reasoning can justify his crime

Because what else could you choose

If you were in his shoes?
Save lives to the best of your ability?
Or watch them all die for the sake of nobility?