Disclaimer: None of the characters from The Outsiders belong to me.
This was a poem I was working on for ELA class. Hope you enjoy.
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Swan Song
/
In the gray morning light
Nothing's gone but the dark of night,
He still remembers what they have done,
And if it's right, then towards home they'll come.
/
The taste of smoke fills his mouth as he exhales,
Bitter, and somehow also pale,
He drops the cigarette on the stones,
They leave, not yet ready to go.
/
And so the flame is lit,
Their past now splits,
That difference between good and bad
Blurs farther than it ever had.
/
The wood's too old,
So the blaze burns gold
The children, playing inside the church
Are trapped within their perch.
/
Two hoods-and-heroes rush in
And the third, despite his reluctance, joins his kin.
They are brothers, and always together,
They would not care to play the martyr.
/
Soon, the children are saved,
The fire is braved,
But redemption from the scent of smoke and ash,
Cannot save them from their last act.
/
The rafters break
And the walls shake
The one that's caught in the flames;
He's the one which it claims.
/
The wolf, he turns his back,
He never achieved his peace in the pack.
With the one he protected, gone,
His curtains become drawn.
/
When eyes are closed,
Oh, the past seems like gold,
But the last one knows
That every such thing goes.
/
Despite the pain,
He still remains –
Vengeance is but a flitting emotion,
And independence, still, is the best notion.
/
Yet, through all these thoughts,
He must say something, to tie the knots,
His family, his five brothers;
His house shall always last together.
/
And of course, all good stories
Start at the dawn.