Billy Carter (Repost 2)

Second in a series of reposted articles from my first year on Gather. This one was a submission to a group here named Daily Best. I'm not sure if that group is even in existence anymore (or, if it is, whether it's still being moderated), but this fictional piece seems to be have somewhat deservingly faded into obscurity (I say "somewhat deservingly" because I'm not exactly proudest of this effort) but I'm bringing it back out into the light briefly so it can run its course amongst you esteemed readers and fall back into the shadows, from whence it was fished out.

Originally posted April 11, 2006

The gang, they called him Billy

He was not tall, short

Lithe, a Jew, tough

Rough, mean, sharp, menacing

Eyes, like a pair of scimitars

Ready to cut anything facing them

Soon, the guinea in the coffee shop

Paid him well to go on a mission

A hustler who stiffed too many

A bullet with the hustler's name on it

Was given to Carter, and he took it

Ever intent on getting the bullet wet

With the hustler's blood

Billy showed up at the hustler's

Dive; scantily-clad ladies, smoke-filled

Room, sin dripping from the buckets of Hell

One second, a gun was aimed, and another

A body dropped, and the third, the screams

Of the people as they ran away into the night

And Billy put another bullet in

And joined the hustler in the chasm

The guinea knew Billy was crazy

But there was a method to his madness

Billy Carter, there was one;

There won't be another.