Mariko
Mariko
The court case was a travesty
Of justice -- just my take --
It put a notch in someone's gun.
They won. A big mistake.
In fact, in his summation,
After all was said and done,
The prosecutor actu'ly said
No laws had been undone!
"Mr. Ruskjer didn't break
any
laws --
His trades were squeaky clean.
And the way he borrowed money?
Insofar as we have seen,
"Was as legal as the day is long"
(Perhaps a paraphrase)
"But if you think he lied just once
Throughout this legal maze,
"You have to find him guilty ..."
Knowing
he had been the one --
He -- the prosecutor -- knew what he,
With help, they all had done.
Convincing those poor jurors --
Spinning truth into white lies,
Saying loss that never happened
Should still count, or otherwise
There'd be no case -- no evidence,
That any lies occurred.
"Contingent liabilities"
Mean loss -- just take his word!
Well, the jury bought it -- no surprise --
The feds win ninety-eight
Percent of all their cases.
That's a fact. There's no debate.
What took everybody by surprise --
That is, except the judge,
Was a thing called "self surrender,"
Which all said, without a grudge,
I would have six weeks to wrap things up
Before that fateful trip
To summer camp for ten long years
My wife couldn't get a grip …
She's Japanese -- 'twas hard enough
To fathom what took place
But when the judge said, "Straight to jail,"
There's no way she could face
The loneliness -- no interlude.
Who now could help her cope?
The shock went through her body --
In that moment she lost hope.
A shriek of abject hopelessness
Arose to fill that room --
The size of two gymnasiums --
Too small to hold that gloom.
I could not then console her.
They took me straightaway.
No parting kiss or heartfelt hug.
I truly hope some day
That judge is left as lonely
As she dealt that heartless blow
Not to me -- but to Mariko.
This great country's lost its glow …