Let Sleepy Towns Lie

jail time

The sands of time had ground to dust.
The wheels of justice left the bus.
My day in court long overdue,
due process – it seemed – had stood me up.

This sleepy town gave me arrest
for stealing nest eggs off their nests.
When left to choose ‘twixt right and wrong,
I wrongly chose, then quickly left.

Blind justice sniffed me out that day,
threw me in jail; the key, away.
Each year, society’s ransom grew.
How long until this debt was paid?

One night I knew just what to do.
I poison-penned an IOU,
slipped through the cracks and stole away,
and vowed my life of crime was through.

I bailed from jail, but I’m still not free.
I watch my back, it watches me.
I’ll no more practice to deceive, ‘cuz
from ‘neath her blindfold, justice sees.


dVerse Poetics: Twisted Adages. “For this week’s Poetics, we will start with an adage, or several adages, but we won’t stop there.  I am asking you to craft your poetry around an adage or two that you must change in some significant way.”

I may have gotten a bit carried away with my wordplay, but you know, when it rhymes, it pours. 

I wrote a previous post that fits the bill for this challenge as well. You may find it here.

 

About Maggie C

Stained glass artist, writer, respecter of life.
This entry was posted in daily prompt, humor, poetry and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

18 Responses to Let Sleepy Towns Lie

  1. Frank Hubeny says:

    Nice lines: “I watch my back, it watches me.” and “stealing nest eggs off their nests”.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Love all the wordplay going on here…

    Liked by 1 person

  3. jillys2016 says:

    You caught my attention with that clever title, but then drew me in with the story and all that it entails. So well done!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. “This sleepy town gave me arrest
    for stealing nest eggs off their nests.
    When left to choose ‘twixt right and wrong,
    I wrongly chose, then quickly left.”

    Love this, Maggie!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Very clever! I enjoyed the word play and the rhythm.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. lillian says:

    Loving all the word play here, Maggie…..indeed “when it rhymes it pours!” 🙂 Chuckling I am.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Dorianna says:

    love the word play and the continuity of the story

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Singledust says:

    loved this, an entire story on its own that kept me engaged all through

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I have heard the word adage but would suffer to define it. Be as it may, I like this poem but most of all this line: “I poison-penned an IOU.” It deserved to be heard more widely.

    Liked by 1 person

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