In the shadows of an alley
Lurked that wastrel Bill McNally
A cigarette cupped in one tar stained hand,
In the other was a knife
He'd come to take a life
At least that's what his evil mind had planned.
Kicked out by his lover
Bill vowed she'd take no other
He'd seen her kiss and hug some new amour,
It spiked his jealous heart
He'd see them torn apart
Rejection pained him like an open sore.
As the last light bled away
In hiding foul Bill lay
In a bar across the street a piano played,
Now swaddled by the night
He hungered for the fight
To teach the world a lesson with his blade.
The bar door was flung wide
Light and music from inside
Flowed across the dark, deserted street,
In that momentary glow
McNally marked his foe,
His cigarette he threw down at his feet.
Bill greeted the arrival
Of his younger, mane-haired rival
By grabbing him most warmly by the throat,
With barely any sound
He dragged him to the ground
'Oh dear,' Bill sneered, 'it seems you've mussed your coat.'
Never one for shirking
Bill quickly set to working
On slicing up his scared and helpless prey,
All set to have some fun
He'd barely just begun
When from the dark he heard a woman say.
'Hark Bill to my voice
You have a simple choice
Release him or I swear I'll shoot you dead,'
To prove her words were meant
A slug the woman sent
A-whistling past Bills shaven, tattooed head.
McNally gave a roar
'Screw you, you blasted whore
My blade will gladly slit your gizzard too!',
He raised his blood-slick knife
To end his prisoner's life
A muzzle flash fair tore the night in two.
In the shadows of an alley
Lay that wastrel Bill McNally
In agony he rasped his final breath,
Gunned down by his ex-lover
To save her younger brother
Bill's jealously misled him to his death.
.
.
copyright DM Pamment 8th February 2012
Comments
Silver Spun Sand | February 8, 2012 - 16:30
This is quite some story you tell here, David, and in your, as usual, polished poetic style. The end result of a considerable amount of hard work, but it has certainly paid off. The six-line stanzas work well.
Shame it had to end it tears, but all the more striking for it;-)
Very much enjoyed.
Tina ;-)xx
kheldar | February 8, 2012 - 16:42
Thank you so much for that Tina, it means a lot.
David :--) xxx
MistakenMagic | February 9, 2012 - 18:22
I'm reading Toni Morrison's 'Jazz' at the moment and it's all about infidelity, jealousy and murder - cheery topics, but I couldn't resist a bit more with your poem, David. An expertly told tale, and love the twist at the end!
Magic xxx
kheldar | February 10, 2012 - 19:05
Hi Rebecca,
Thank you so much for reading and enjoying and especially for your great comment.
I'm glad you liked the ending, especially as I didn't know the twist myself until I got there. The great personal enjoyment I get from writing poetry in the style I do is sometimes, as in this case,the search for the right word dictates the flow of the story. I new as I wrote it that the ex-lover would do the shooting but it was the rhyming connection of lover to brother that gave rise to the final twist.
Similarly, my inspiration for this story came from hearing a song lyric about an alley which set up the ryhme in my head of alley and McNally; suddenly I had a story to tell.
Anyhoo, enough of my waffling. Thanks again for your very supportive comment.
david :--) xxx