Beetles

the man with a gun
walks into town
so everyone scatters
and he calls it respect

he sits at the table and
with signals organises
a black jack ensemble

wins every hand until
midnight then slams
down a half glass of malt
calls out to misplaced
memory of being on top

it can not last as the Doc
enters the saloon and the man
saw his fate, and yet gambled his life
away until the sun was about to rise

the beetles scurry under skirting
as the shots were fired
property investments and insurance
assessments followed as the grim
outlook was prognosis
outlaw diagnosis
bars for the man
the Doc was carried away on a cloth bound jerry bed
and the crowd gathered around to silence the man
with the gun before anyone else got dead

He drew a card
it was the ace of spades
and a shot was fired
but it missed and panic set in
the lynch mob was unnerved
the man grabbed the noose
and used it to swing
across the room
seething with the mob
reaching for him with zombie clawed skin
but he found the door
rolled himself into a ball
and landed by his mount who took
him from the eyes of the crowd

back to the mountains
to live out his days
in his lonely little cave

watching the beetles scurry about