High Plains Justice

The Stranger rode into the town lookin' for revenge

He'd killed in wars and fought in bars his quest soon at an end

A cold iron laid upon his hip and fire in his soul

He knew someone was sure die before he had to go

He thought back upon his life, the good times that he'd known

He'd found himself a loving wife who never did no wrong

Then one night the War had come and soldiers came around

They killed his one and only love and burned his cabin down

The sheriff of the little town his name was Mick Malone

His kingdom ruled by fist of iron, a tyrant to the bone

The Stranger he'd been searching long to find this evil soul

Who'd led the soldiers that dark night so many years ago

The Stranger walked into the bar, Malone was waiting there

They looked into each others eyes a stillness in the air

The Stranger he cleared leather first and fired the fatal shot

Mick Malone fell to the floor a bullet in his heart

A posse took the Stranger in upon a murder charge

Spoke not a word in his defense before the hanging judge

The sun was bright, the scaffold high, the hangman dressed in black

The stranger's boots swayed in the wind, his love he'd found at last

Copyright 1999 Rob Vest

On High Plains Justice:

This poem was heavily influenced by the Western imagery found in the music of Johnny Cash (Long Black Veil, Don't Take Your Guns to Town), Social Distortion (Ghost Town Blues, Like an Outlaw), and Marty Robbins (El Paso, Big Iron), as well as the films of John Wayne (The Shootist) and Clint Eastwood (The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Unforgiven). It reads more like a song than a poem chiefly because the meter is based on Don't Take Your Guns to Town, but it can be argued that songwriters of Cash's caliber can also be considered poets.

What I wanted to achieve was the dark feel and imagery found in many Westerns: the conflict between good and evil, the nameless hero, the corrupt lawman, the tension of a gunfight, justice, revenge, and loss. I tried to work all these into my poem. I also tried to use language to give the poem that "Western feel," such as "cold iron," "cleared leather," "hanging judge," and "boots swayed in the wind."

I want the reader to feel like he or she is watching a movie or listening to a song while reading this poem. I also want them to be surprised with the final twist at the end, when the Stranger, once his revenge is complete, is captured and willingly goes to the gallows in hopes of reuniting with his murdered wife.

When revising my first draft, I looked for inconsistencies (changing "day" in line seven to "night" so not to conflict with line twelve), mistakes (changing "the" in line five to "he"), and weak word choices ("revenge" in line one sounds more appropriate than "fight", thus strengthening the first stanza and linking it to the second and third).

Though my skills don't even approach those of Robbins and Cash, I still think that this poem manages to capture the spirit of the Western without being too cliche.