Analysis of THE SHERIFF AND THE OUTLAW
Barry Green Jr 1973 (Florida)
THE SHERIFF AND THE OUTLAW
The Devil came to me in the fadin' light
By his sneer I knew he was itchin' fer a fight
No one was near as I looked around
But secure in the Sheriff's might I stood my ground
He stopped before me, and said with an outlaw's drawl,
"Boy yer writtin's gotta stop or yer gonna fall
I'm sick and tired of yer poetic threats
I've faced better men then you, ain't lost yet"
"Boy doncha know this world is mine?
Yer kind ain't welcome, read the sign!
'no tresspasin' is what this here sign say
So young buck, my pistol's in my hand and you'd best back away"
I looked at the horizon, and the setting sun
In the heat of the breeze I felt the One
Who held the world in His grip
His trigger finger ain't ever gonna slip
I stood my ground, looked the Outlaw in the eye
My legs were steady, I weren't afraid to die
I belonged to the Sheriff who arrested death
So's I take a long deep breath
"Devil", I says, " see this here badge upon my chest?
I'm the deputy of the one you'll never best
Yeah you stole this land so long ago
But the Sheriff's come to town and you just got to go!"
"Satan we can do this the easy way or the hard way
Y'all can walk into the sun, or I kin start to pray
But the Law of Love has arrived
And in this town you won't survive!"
"So's I'm given you till 10 ya get outta town
And I ain't ever gonna see ya around
These parts don't take kindly to Outlaws
Or trespassers like that sign you saw"
The Outlaw's mask broke into an angry rage
That lawmen have seen in every age
Quick as lightening he drew his gun
I ducked behind a wall, prayin' to the Son
The twilight was broke by gunfire
The shots seemed louder and brighter
Neither the Outlaw nor I gained the upper hand
As our battle rages across a darkened land
By dawn I was exhausted, my amm'nition all but spent
It don't take a genius to see how the battle went
And the worst was the Enemy knew too
That for me this battle was all but through
Satan cried," Lawman best surrender now, ain't no hope for you
Drop yer weapon, come out, i's let you through
Leave this town on yet horse and never come back
Ya win some, ya lose some, lets leave it at that"
But the Sheriff fought the Outlaw till death and won
I prayed silent like as I put a last round in my gun
A round special, called Saving Grace
I drawed a bead on the Outlaw's face
Suddenly I heard a mighty sound
As the Sheriff rode into town
The Outlaw turned several shades of white
I knowed he's no longer fight
The Sheriff rode up to me; in my hour of need
Smiled and dismounted His stead
Walked across the dusty street
Where the Outlaw bowed at His feet
The sheriff locked the Outlaw in the county jail
There he sits in his lonely cell
There he'll be etern'y last
Against the Lord he dared trespass
AMEN
Scheme | A BBCC DDXX EEFF GGHH IIJJ KKLL FFXX MCXA NNGG OOPP QQRR RRXX GGSS CMBB XXTT XXXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010001 0101110011 11111111101 111111101 101001011111 11011011111 11110111101 11010110101 1110111111 1111111 11110101 11111111 11111011011101 111001000101 0011011101 1101011 11010110101 1111101001 110101100111 101101010101 1110111 101111110111 101001011101 111111101 1010111011111 10111101011011 110101111111 10111101 00111101 11101111101 01110101101 11111011 1111111 0111011101 1111101001 111001111 1101011101 0111110 01110010 10011110101 1101010010101 111101011111 1110101110101 0011010011 1111101111 101101010111111 1110111111 11111101011 11111111111 10101011101 11101111011011 01101101 11011011 100110101 10101011 01110111 1111101 0101111011011 10111 1010101 1011111 01010100101 11101101 11111 0101111 01 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,768 |
Words | 575 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 66 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 125 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
About this poem
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2 8-10
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"THE SHERIFF AND THE OUTLAW" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/185588/the-sheriff-and-the-outlaw>.
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