The streets of Edinburgh, craggy
deliver countless tales to swoon.
Hear now the tale of half-hanged Maggie
who didn't want to leave too soon.
Maggie was sentenced for concealing
a pregnancy -- still birth revealing
adultery. Widow, she was,
that -- in the day -- sufficient cause.
They hung her. Put her in a coffin,
and carted off for last respects
but just when nobody expects
(though in tall tales, this happens often)
she wakes. And never hung again.
They called it justice, now and then.
Author notes: Onegin Sonnet https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/half-hangit-maggie-scots-woman-who-survived-hanging-622567
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