High Noon

Poem by Rocco Valentini

Artwork Sourced From Pinterest. Artist: Unknown.

High Noon

by Antonio Rocco S. (Rocco Valentini)

CLICK. 

11:55 A.M.

The clock counts out each breath
Of two men on a silent street—
One about to meet his death,
For the other, a pyrrhic victory spells defeat.

11:56 A.M.

Tumbleweeds roll outside the town jail.
One is the fox, the other guards the hens.
Neither hero nor desperado makes bail—
Guilt has a bounty on the heads of both men.

11:57 A.M.

A jail without bars still holds the guilty,
And guilt spares neither the clean nor the filthy.
Noon wipes the slate but never the stain—
Injustice will ride again under a different name.
Only the irreverent man defends what should be revered;
He stands beyond convention, social anxiety, or fear.

11:58 A.M.

To defend itself, liberty must never be unarmed— 
A Colt on the hip beats a tin star on horseback.
An armed cowboy prevents harm 
Better than a desk-bound bureaucrat.

11:59 A.M.

With a brand on his hide
And an oath in his heart,
A cowboy takes it in stride
And finishes what the law never starts. 

12:00 P.M

BANG.