“Crippling Doubt” The Hunchback…

And His Sudden, Clever Means Of Escape

Quick, darting, flintlike eyes
eagerly penetrating
the fat full moon’s shadows,
as he shuffles and creeps
ever closer to further away.
His cruel Jailer
holds his ‘Trust and Secrets’
within the inside pocket
of her blood-splattered work overalls.
Yet, it is only a ruse,
empty of all but false promises
and a ‘Listening For Deception’
Playing the Players
is always a dangerous sport
but when desperation becomes necessity
the word ‘Impossible’
loses its first two letters
and merely becomes
a series of breath-taking,
death-defying stepping stones
to glance and skim
the pebbles of ‘Chance’ along and off of.
Breaching the boundary walls now
with a limping, sidewinder gait.
The wax-headed mannequin’s
still working its magic
at the tail-end
of the echo he’s leaving behind.
Victory and Success are oftentimes
restricted to solitary feelings,
applause-less and uncredited.
Even so, they still ring aloud
like the bells of Big Ben
in the dizzying, euphoric mind.
‘Catching a lizard by its tail’
will leave one of you
with only the dead husk
of the bargain you had hoped for.

Paul Tristram is a widely published Welsh writer who deals in the Lowlife, Outsider, and Outlaw genres.  He wrote his first poem as a teenager following his release from the (Infamous) Borstal ‘HMP Portland’, and he has been creating Literary Terrorism ever since.  His novel ‘Crazy Like Emotion’ is available to purchase right here . Also his collection of shorter fiction Kicking Back Drunk ‘Round The Candletree Graves' is available to purchase at https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0DFMTSR4F Both books are published by Close To The Bone Publishing. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.