Noun. To punish the mob
With execution of every
Hundredth man.
For every hundred iterations
Of flesh and breath,
A hangman's noose
A guillotine drop,
A shiv between the ribs.
Worse than the killing stroke
Is the pause in which you wait,
Breath clenched in the fist of your heart:
Are you marked with that centesimal sign
Or blessed with the lesserness
Of number ninety-nine?