The Night the Hammer Fell

This happened in 2001. An off duty policeman arrived home ...

They said he had a short fuse
And, one day, he might just blow
But no-one could have realised
Just how far that he might go

He went to work on Tuesday
A Copper on the beat
Then he came home to his family
His kids were playing in the street

His wife, three sons and daughter
Must have known all wasn?t well
But his neighbours can?t believe it still
The night the hammer fell

Early the next morning
Just after broken dreams
The neighbourhood awoke
To the sound of the daughters screams

Then police from his own station
Arrived upon the scene
And, to their utter horror
Soon found out why she had screamed

The 18 month old boy
lay dying on his bed
Face all smashed and blooded
From a hammer to the head

The three year old lay downstairs
Another tragic case
His shattered jawbone protruding
From his little face

The mother, in the kitchen
Face down on the floor
And soon, they found the husband
Behind the garage door

In a final act of madness
He?d hung himself as well
The last, tragic victim
Of the night the hammer fell

They found the eight year old boy
Barely holding on to life
So they rushed him off to hospital
And to the surgeons knife

The daughter, only seven
Struck dumb by what she?d seen
Her family, torn apart
By an act that?s so obscene

And soon they?ll ask the question
To the little girl
Just what happened on that night
The night the hammer fell?