An Empty Suit

By the time he was found, 
he had the look of a haunted, haunted man, 
not remarkable at all, 
without his uniform, 
polished boots, 
death's Head hat, 
nothing about him was evil or sinister, 
only a bland and ordinary man. 

When he sat on the chair, 
now so far removed from his crimes, 
now in the hands of his enemies, 
he was unremarkable, 
empty. 

It was as if they draped an empty suit over his chair, 
no substance at all. 

An empty suit, 
no moral compass, 
pathetic protestations. 

"I was only following orders..." 

Later he was reduced to ashes, 
tossed into the sea, 
nothing was left of him. 

T. S. Deary 
11/8/24