Nine Bullets

World headlines
Straight from Afghan
Woman's execution
Courtesy of the Taliban
With nine bullets from a gun
Her guilt was adultery
But is that the full story?

Amidst the approvals of a hundred plus men
Witnesses of injustice & indifference
Where is the adulterous man or men?
For adultery cannot be committed on one's own
Why does she bear the brunt of such judgment?

According to the news
The woman crouched at the edge
A patch of rocky ground
Her body turned away from the jeering crowd
In silence she sat
What were her thoughts in those last few moments
As the shots rang and the bullets struck
And she fell, never to rise
It didn't need nine
Three was more than enough