High Noon On Museum Square Poem by Kevin Eaglesfield

The clock was striking twelve
And old chip papers tumbled in the wind.
Someone said my name,
Then again firmer and louder
As I stopped and turned.
A girl stood there, hands on hips, feet apart,
And armed.
I could see the bulges and lines under her coat.
Never figured they'd send a girl.
Our eyes met as I froze and she lazily shifted
The uncapped biro from one side of her mouth
To the other, like a cigar.
'We're tired', she drawled.
'Tired of being tired',
'Tired of being late and your one more comment',
'Your one last vote or message keeping us there',
'While decent people sleep'.
She threw the biro aside and uncapped another,
Red this time, tapping it thoughtfully on her teeth.
'You still use pencil? ', she laughed,
But not with her eyes.
'Yes ', I croaked, fingers slowly
Heading for my back pocket.
'Well I'm here to rub you out', she hissed and launched
The pen, dagger-like towards my head.
Instantly I dived, barely escaping as the Bic
Bounced off the spiral notebook I'd raised in panic,
And a bottle of Tippex exploded on the statue behind me.
'There's no escape', she mocked,
'P.H. has a very long arm',
'You gave us your photograph, fool'.
Crouching behind a bench,
I sharpened like I'd never sharpened before,
Then rolled and hurled the shavings full force.
A speck caught her eye and as she blinked and rubbed,
Her coat parted and what I saw filled me with horror.
Calligraphy.There'd be a massacre here
If she used the copperplate.
That hesitation was almost fatal.
Like lightning she was on me, wrapping three sonnets
And a haiku on A3 paper round my face, suffocating.
'All right', I almost screamed,
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.11 o'clock cut-off'.
The weight lifted and the paper was removed.
I dropped the two-colour pen and pencil eraser
I'd been scrabbling for.
'Ok', the girl said,
'That's all I wanted.Don't do it again',
And she patted my cheek and stood.
'See ya', and she turned to go.
'Who are you? ', I called, 'Which one? '.
She paused, head on one side.
'Me? ', she grinned,
'I'm Lisa, dear! '