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There's stories told of outlaws bold, and all the things they've done: Of fiery steeds and daring deeds, beneath the Western Sun. Of lone cowpokes, and miner folks, and of the claims they stake: But all these pale before my tale -- the Phoenix Prison Break!! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. July the third, you have my word, it was in Eighty Seven, Gale Hollingsworth had leased a berth in storage shed eleven. "Within the shed", to me he said, "I'll take some things to lodge", "It's my belief they'd cause me grief, if left in my garage." DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. The storage lot gave him a spot, secured by a computer, That guaranteed to meet the need to keep out any looter. The entrance key security depended on the hour: At nine each night it locked up tight, and cut the draw-gate power. DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. They'd told us we would have to be by nine within the shed. That up 'till nine would still be fine, "but don't be late" they said. With loaded freight at just past eight, we started on the double, And rolling down the streets of town, there was no hint of trouble. DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. We'd packed our load and hit the road with time to spare, we thought, At five 'till nine we reached the sign, within the storage lot. Gale tried the keys and, if you please, the gate slid open wide. "That's good!", he said, and drove ahead, until we were inside. DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. We dropped our load and quickly rode back toward the exit way, But to our shock the exit lock had shut us in to stay! Before the truck the gate was stuck, it would not budge at all! We looked around but nowhere found a phone to place a call! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. Because we knew that it was true - security was tops, We sought a way to end our stay by signalling the cops.- We moved a door, it was a chore - alarms began to sound! And three more times we faked some crimes, but no one came around! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. We never thought that they had sought to keep us in this jail! The circling wall was very tall, too high for us to scale. The office there was blank and bare - the manager was gone. We cursed our luck that we were stuck - at least until the dawn. DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. Then Gale in fear said "Listen here!, July the Fourth's tomorrow!" "The holiday will mean delay, the dawn will just bring sorrow," "For I can see no one will be around on such a day," "We two must make a daring break - there is no other way!!" DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. Alas! the truck was surely stuck - no way could it be driven, A single nut the gate held shut - and with it we had striven. We looked around and finally found, within the flower beds, A place where we might just get free, if we would use our heads. DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. On hands and knees we tried to squeeze between the fence and ground. We dug a bit to help us fit into this hole we'd found. The squeeze was tight, but still that night, within the bed of flowers, Without a doubt, we struggled out - it seemed like it took hours! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. We left that place with dirty face - mud caked our clothes and skin. And through the dark the walls looked stark - alarms still blared within! In single file we walked a mile to where a pay phone lay, A call to Cheryl stopped our peril - she drove the get-away! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. Next day the truck, no longer stuck, cruised out the open gate: And still they say that its O.K., security is great! Yet near the hose, beneath the rose (you have to look just right), You still can see where we slipped free - and got away that night!! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. There's stories told of outlaws bold, and all the things they've done: Of fiery steeds and daring deeds, beneath the Western Sun. Of lone cowpokes, and miner folks, and of the claims they stake: But all these pale before my tale -- the Phoenix Prison Break!! DO NOT STEAL COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL! This poem copyright 1987, 2005 by Robert H. Beeman. - R. H. Beeman copyright 1987, 2005. All rights reserved. |
One thing led to another, and we had a memorable experience, from which came "The Phoenix Prison Break".
Remember, this story took place before cell phones were commonly available, which is why we didn't just whip out a cell phone and call for help.
This poem is a parody of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service, and uses the same traditional iambic ballad form with AABCCB rhyme scheme. It is written here in heptameter form (7 poetic feet per line) so that the whole poem would fit on a single sheet of paper which I had framed and presented it to the Hollingsworths as a housewarming present.
This also became a favorite campfire story among my friends. I usually introduced it with the line:
It is very discouraging to see one's own poetry reproduced somewhere and labeled as "Author Unknown". That is what happens eventually when people copy poems and redistribute them. Eventually the attribution to the author and the copyright notice is lost.
My only reward for writing this is the 15 milliseconds of fame I receive from having my name here. Don't deprive me of that.