Capital punishment
2026
Oil on linen
16 x 16 in
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Sail on.
Forge your empire through space,
hang your medals upon the ruins,
make gold shine over ashes and mines.
Divine humanity adrift,
you dominate.
You twist and carve your furrows
down to the heart and to the depths,
you drain the entrails
of your cities.
Assassins,
your golden desires.
Beneath your copper-colored hair,
hardware trophies,
bartered for life.
Infinite dust beneath
a bandit's adornment.
A sentence heavy with meaning,
dried blood upon your cheeks,
and around your neck,
the rope you cling to,
whatever the cost.
You keep the course and trade
your time.
Your Punishment is later/not now.
Euro, Dollar, poor fetishes, foul and rotten,
your medallion, you deserve it, my friend.
A planet on fire beneath a craving for trinkets and cheap glitter,
under the weight of your necklace, you suffocate.
Profit-pains and flambéed shellfish,
you don’t care.
You’ll ride a rocket
to blow up the Milky Way.
Sophie-Gaëlle Martin • 2026