The Butcher's Hook

The body lay in a mound of hay

That was all piled up by the forge,

He took one look at the butcher’s hook

And the sick rose up in his gorge,

He peered on down at the bloodied face

There was nothing that could be done,

But held his breath when he saw that death

Had taken the blacksmith’s son.

 

He looked around for a sign of life

But the shop and the forge were cold,

The blacksmith Kirk hadn’t come to work

Though he’d seen him, out in the fold,

And darling Kate would be calling in,

His fate whirled round in his head,

What would she think when she found him there

With the love of her life stone dead?

 

The villagers knew no love was lost,

They’d fought at the village fete,

All over the hand of the pretty one,

The hand of their darling Kate,

But George was on an apprenticeship

For his father had owned the forge,

While Faber was a farm labourer,

So Kate had gone off with George.

 

But now George lay in a pile of hay

And he wouldn’t be dating Kate,

So Faber thought that he shouldn’t stay

Though he’d left it a little late.

He didn’t know if they’d seen him come,

He couldn’t be seen to go,

They’d think that he was the only one

To deliver the killer blow.

 

He heard a rustle within the store

And the sweat broke out on his head,

He knew if somebody found him there

That he’d be better off dead.

He peered silently through the door

And into the corner gloom,

And Kate was sobbing, there on the floor

In the darkest part of the room.

 

Her bouffant hair was a tangled mess

Her dress was tattered and frayed,

It didn’t take but a single guess

To see the part that she’d played,

For blood was mingling with her tears

Her bodice was stained deep red,

‘He stole my innocence,’ she exclaimed,

‘I hit him just once,’ she said.

 

Now Faber sits in a darkened cell

To wait for the hangman’s rope,

The Judge had asked, but he wouldn’t tell

So now he’s bereft of hope.

He’d told the court that he’d stumbled in

On the blacksmith’s son, and rape,

And hit him once with a butcher’s hook

For the sake of the darling Kate.

 

But Kate was strolling with someone new

On the day that they pinned his hands,

And led him up to the gallows floor

To pay for the court’s demands,

She never gave him a thought that day

Though the blacksmith thought he knew,

And lay in wait with a butcher’s hook

As Kate was passing through.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Lena M. P.]

Just dessert for the tart! You never cease to amaze me with your wit and your twists in your poems. Every time I think the story has ended, you add another step to the storyline.

[TL Boehm]

Kate is a vixen of the worst ilk. What a fine story. Always enjoy the little internal rhymes peppered throughout. "the blacksmith Kirk hadn't come to work" mighty fine stuff

[B.J]

Such a graphical read from start to finish. Then ending holds you there waiting for more.

[Marie]

Well, Kate deserved what she got. If she killed George for what he did to her, it's understandable, but to let someone else die for her in such a callous manner is unforgiveable.