The Wheels of Justice
Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly.
The man was straight up guilty no question.
The sentence was the usual death by hanging.
But, damn it, I told Lamont specifically
To bring the ‘long’ lariat to the hangin’ tree.
Dummy done brought the ‘regular’ one.
Too damn short, couldn’t do the job.
We had to waste three days searchin’ for
The tallest damn horse in the county.
Meanwhile, Lamont loses the lariat and
Gets an ‘extra-extra’ long one in its place.
Now the horse is too tall, lariat too long.
But, rather than shorten the legs of a
Shetland pony, we just decided to free
The condemned man and hang Lamont.
©2022 Daniel S. Irwin All rights reserved.
Daniel S. Irwin was born, raised, and is back in town at Sparta, Illinois. His card reads: Artist, Actor, Writer, Soldier, Scholar, Priest. He has won awards for his art, acting (over 100 films and 30+ stage productions), writing (nine books and work published in over one hundred magazines and journals world-wide), retired military (Air Force and Army), graduate of Southern Illinois University/Carbondale and has attended four other universities), and is an ordained Dudeist priest with a Ph.D. in Divinity (not bad for a heathen). Once worked as a medic in an institution for the criminally insane…but didn’t notice anything strange about the inmates. Latest on-line work can be found on Horror, Sleaze, Trash Magazine and Beatnik Cowboy. He would love to move back to Europe but fears the plague.