Death Came To Town

Death Came To Town

Death came to town
On a horse with no rider
All saddled to go
But there was no one astride her

Both saddle bags buckled
They were empty and bare
Death came to town
On a riderless mare

She stopped on the street
She did not make a sound
And the place where she stood
Showed no tracks on the ground

The air had grown cooler
Around where she stood
And to all those around
This was surely not good

Her eyes were as black
As the coal from the mines
The mark that she bore
Was a fork with three tines

The sheriff was summoned
As well as Preacher McGrew
He’d seen this mark once
And now…this made two

The strong sound of thunder
In the distance was heard
The sky though was cloudless
With not even a bird

No wind was felt blowing
No tumbleweeds rolled
But Preacher McGrew
Knew what story she told

Death came to town
On a horse pale and white
With nary a rider
And no one in sight

The farmers round here
Picked at rocks more than grain
For it was almost four years
Since the town had seen rain

The horse stood rock solid
Staring at Preacher McGrew
She belonged to the devil
As I think they all knew

A riderless horse
Meant death came to call
Not for just one
But in the end, came for all

The tombstones and markers
Up on the hill
Were tilted and falling
From the wind and free will

The town was decaying
You could hear the ground crack
Many had left
And would never come back

Homesteaders, many
had come to this land
But, the years had been hard
And things did not go as planned

The horse watched intently
As the crowd gathered round
As the Preacher said to them
Death’s come to town

This horse is a creature
From a hellish domain
It’s sure death to all
Who choose to remain

I saw this horse once
With the same trident mark
Heard the same thunder
And the sky was not dark

Death is the horse
And the devil her groom
And for all those who stay
He will be making room

Our future is nothing
Dead and dying are we
Shown by this horse
Marked by the trident tines three

Preacher McGrew
Pulled out his gun
He showed the crowd then
That death would not run

He fired his pistol
Up into the air
The people were startled
But not the white mare

He told them the story
Of the one seen before
How the horse did not move
Until the town was no more

Death came to town
On a horse with no rider
Death was her goal
And it would not be denied her

The place is forgotten
There is nothing around
Except the old Okee tale
Of when death came to town