Quick, clean, precise:
these were the things that mattered.

Quick action –
so none could later question his decisiveness,
the want-to or self-determination
that made the man he’d
made himself to be. And that was,
after all was said and done, what
had led him to this decision. The act itself
must follow without delay. No time for hesitation.

A clean cut –
the kind one associates with sharpened scissors
slicing through a sheet of glossy white.
Or the kitchen knife drawn back
then lowered with a swift flip
of the wrist. Clean like the gash
opened in one’s arm should said knife
be sent hurling with a whoosh through air
even as your thoughts are suspended
and kitchen tool slices flesh.
It’s of no consequence:
messy aftermath.

Precise action –
the mark of an expert swordsman, indeed
any specialist in his field – exact incisions,
guaranteed finality, spoken
with cool intent backed by
an army of reasons to satisfy
suspicious minds. Here would be a message
for once that could not be misunderstood.