General Guilt’s March

Is it everybody, you ask us,
You ask each other, or is it just

Them? Red may bleed through all the laundry,
But it spread from particular stains.

The people who get the worst rarely
Get to give back as good as they get.

Innocence lies in the imbalance
Formed from the murdered and murderers,

Robbed and robbers, enslaved and slavers,
Raped and rapists—doesn’t have to be

Found in purity of the victim
Against malevolence of the crime.

Sum over enough random humans
And come up with some of everything,

Including occasional cases
Where the vengeance was the vilest part,

But it’s not a smooth distribution.
The darkness starts spreading from the gouge.

The capacity’s in everyone.
Only actual someones were harmed.