A POEM BY R. STEPHEN
I’m here for you
Ms. Executioner
but don’t lay me down too long
take your hand from the lever
for you are not so strong
you waited for my return
the object
of your design
to tell me I’m not worth the fuss
that you have seen my sign
too far
the scales tilt
you tell me
I had my time
a hunger
for your punishment
both still blind
to my crime
take me from under
this guillotine
you may take me anywhere
I shall not wonder far
you see the clothes I wear
you know I’m worth the trouble
so step back from your blade
today is not my day to leave
without me
you will fade
Ms. Executioner
there’s no rulebook to your game
only you, Miss, can save me
with your fair hand on the lever
with a click the blade is free.
About This Poem
The Drop: a plea for mercy from the architect of self judgement
I’m Here for You, Ms. Executioner explores the complicated relationship we can have with our own self judgement. The executioner is not merely a person, but a presence that waits within us, holding power over how we see our worth, our mistakes, and our right to continue.
The poem draws on imagery of punishment and mercy to examine the tension between destruction and dependence. The speaker pleads not only for survival, but for recognition, suggesting that both executioner and condemned are bound together in ways neither fully understands.
At its heart, this is a poem about confronting the voice that believes we deserve the blade, and questioning whether that voice truly holds the authority it claims.
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