By the Boot Strap (Unseen Benefits)

By the Bootstrap

I do confer,

One more notch,

For what it’s worth,

Knuckles red from your skull

Why don’t you quit while you still can

I don’t want to but you know I will

Just lay there, pretend,

And all this will blow over us both,

I didn’t want to be that guy, the one who turned his back on a friend, but sometimes people are left with very little choice.  When it comes down to you or them, I’d hope you’d all agree, it’s a decision I don’t wish on anything.  It’s a decision in which I did not answer well.

Razors to the left of me, slugger to the right,

A holy war is about to begin,

I’m only doing this,

Would you believe, to save your soul?

Once I worked under some docks, in a barge that was inches small enough to fit in this incorrigible hole of a spot.  Needless to say the owner, who paid my daily rate, was a far cry from a spendthrift, and he convinced the boatyard to give him a steal of a monthly rate.  So there I was, all alone scraping barnacles from the hull, yes I was in full scuba attire, and no, it was not fun.  But I heard commotions from above, directly above where I tread.  Two men, or so I thought, one flashing like a light, I couldn’t properly get a glimpse of him, but I did the one who went into where I was.  The stomping left me for a bit, but when it stopped I checked on my newly acquired aquatic companion.  He was bleeding fierce, and sinking quickly.  I checked for rocks in his pockets or a chain along the waist, all frequent drowning tools of the ne’er do wells who frequently distribute their goods and peddle their wares in the sheds over the hill.  But there was nothing but sopping lint, yet this bloody excuse for a man was too much for me to hold.  Even with the natural buoyancy of the flesh and such, he had this propensity to drop.  He spoke in some unfamiliar tone, as I did my best to keep his corpse afloat.  I didn’t make out the uttering, it was not rare for illegal men and women to come through here, and they were not my business, so they were not my concern.  But he would not stop, and he flailed his arms, in an effort it seemed to allow the blood to encase about his face.  And then I wiped enough of the blood dry, a point in this life I shall never forget, nor tell another about.  He was not human, he was not a man at all.  Some demon figure, or space creature, positioned this close to shore.  I let him go in fear and fright, his body sunk so fast and hard.

I made my way to the shore,

I swam so fast I forgot the barge,

I should have stayed,

Upon the dock another creature stood awaiting me,

This one was not bloody except for his protruding nails,

His voice was course, but communicate he could,

And that’s is when he propositioned me,

With this decision I am working towards,

So please, just pretend, they cannot tell,

Stop your screams and lay still,

Otherwise I shall continue until you can no more,

Close your eyes and soon I’ll return to take you to a better place,

A place where men and women find their cures,

Just remember this is all for the good of man,

I cannot discuss anything further than from what I have.