Have you ever shaken hands with a killer?

[YolaSm]

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer,
And noticed from just their touch
That they've paid for all of their sins?
As living with guilt is far too much.

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer,
And felt the tide of their misery
Crash against the palm of your hand?
A life story in one moment of synergy.

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer,
And felt the sweat of their crimes?
When closer than any other,
You understand they've done their time.

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer?
Their grip, so tight, like love's grasp,
And their eyes pierce yours,
As if to say, how they long to correct their past.

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer?
Most have, but few recall,
For they are many in number, but still so rare to find,
They do so much to hide their evil.

Have you ever shaken hands with me?
If so I hope you know my dread,
For what I've done is inexcusable,
And all that I love, is dead.

Hello.
I am new to this site as well I really, really enjoyed the theme of your poem. The poetic speaker seeks to be understood and forgiven for their crimes, or at least be given the recognition that they have paid their crimes with guild, the worst punishment of all and through that recognition find redemption. The "killing" could perhaps be a metaphor for all the bad deeds that the speaker carries like burdens that deprive him/her from love. I really liked the twist in the last stanza. Ι loved all of your ideas for they were very clever, my only remark is that I wanted there to be a more intense connection between the second line of each stanza with the rest of the lines of each stanza and that could have been better illustrated through figurative language and images.

For example, in stanza one:

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer,
And noticed from just their touch (I wanted the word touch to be enhanced by (perhaps) a tactile image in the following lines, to depict the subject of the stanza in a more vivid way)
That they've paid for all of their sins?
As living with guilt is far too much.


For example, I would have written :

Have you ever shaken hands with a killer,
And noticed from just their touch
that their skin is rough and sewn with guild,
like the skin of those who've paid for their sins.

I don't claim that I know better and of course each one of us has a different style, I just gave an example here cause I find it hard to express myself as clearly as I would like to.

Again, I really enjoyed your poem, great job!