Weary Watchmen

Dedicated to VHunter07

The evening darkens cryptically

As demons call the night

It billows with the fog and damp

To suit it’s creeping flight

The stars are held within the fog

That clamps around the heads

Of two courageous gentlemen

Who must forsake their beds

Pounding shoes and aching breath

Have flogged the ground in chase

Tonight they hope to catch their prize

And meet him face to face

Friend and foe continue on

Through anger they have turned

No one knows which is one is which

For both shall end up burned

A hanging rope is many things

To some a coiling snake

To others at the gallows’ mouth

Another fiend to break

Now the hunt is over

And the case is safely closed

Now awake are all the rest

Who until now have dozed

The glow of dawn shines from the mist

A beacon through the gloom

And weary watchmen fumble forth

Into a welcome room

A violin will warm the air

And safe within the sound

Laughter’s mocking memories

In comfort do abound

Another dream, another quest

Has passed through seasoned eyes

Again it will come soon enough

In cheerier disguise

But until that awaited day

The two old friends shall wait

There will be another time

To lay some other bait

Swelling smoke and scratching pen

Are constants in this world

They linger far beyond the crimes

Yet to be unfurled