He’d paid someone else’s debt to society,
& when he’d found the man who owed him,
the debt was paid in full.

She lied to her lover, who avenged the alleged,
& there is no sadder tale
than the one of unintended consequences.

She could separate the oppressed he once was
from the oppressor he became,
& only he knew the moment he had crossed that line.

Because of his nurture,
nature never had a chance.
To punish the guilty,
would be to go back generations.

It didn’t matter he was the last straw;
it mattered he was one of the straws that broke her,
for killing Abby had been a collaborative effort.