THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE HOLY

Here's a poem for Easter week. 
An earlier version of it can be found in my Strange Journey collection, published in 2012.

RIDER

A man rides into town ...

he’s a good man and this used to be a good town
but the bad guys have taken over
and the townsfolk are weak
so it’s a bad town now with bad problems.

The rider will change things. 

Valiantly, he’ll make a stand
against hopeless odds. He’ll confront the bad guys,
inspire loyalty, teach the timid townsfolk to confront evil.

I told you, remember,
that the odds were hopeless,
so the bad guys win in the end and the rider dies alone
in the sun, as the townsfolk look on, helpless.

But his death’s not the final reel.
 

Right now,
he rides into town on a swaying donkey
as cheering townsfolk cast palm-fronds at his feet.