He lived a broken life, he did
As he roamed the countryside
The neighbors knew he stole from them
When asked, he flat out lied
He'd take their clothes straight off the line
And raid their pantry shelves
When asked, he said it wasn't him
And blamed it on the elves
There were a couple feral cats
That followed him around
Though they weren't his, he often ate
Stray chickens that they found
He had no home to call his own
His family was long gone
He'd hunker down on mossy ground
And rise again at dawn
There seemed to be no purpose
To the squandered life he led
But everyone knew he was there
Somewhere on their homestead
Sometimes there'd be no sign of him
For days and days, on end
To only see him in the distance
Coming 'round the bend
Look there...they'd say...looks like old Ben has had a brief furlough. Take care, it's time to watch our goods...he'll steal us blind, you know!
Then came the day old Ben just seemed
To disappear from sight
That brief furlough he took sometimes
Stretched more than a fortnight
One day a mob of blackbirds swarmed
Blackened the skies above
Their squawks and 'koooz'
And clicks and 'keeeks'
Bragged a prize they had claim of
A group of townsfolk set about
To search the thickets nearby
For the birds had caused quite a ruckus
Puzzled, they wondered why
They poked about until they found
Some fresh bones in the glen
Torn rags nearby...
Bits of hair and flesh...
Well, they opined it was poor Ben
Now, when a swarm of birds appears
And foodstuff disappears
Sightings of Old Ben can be seen
Though he's been gone 50 years

Sharon Cunningham
Facebook.com/sharon.cunningham.5076
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