Rod Othello, a poem

While on the road I met a man,
His name was Rod Othello.
I asked him where he hailed from,
He said from 'neath the gallow.

An odd and vague response that was,
And so I begged for more.
He looked me in the eye and said,
"My story's filled with gore."

"I was a mighty sailor,
My life upon the sea.
Sometimes I sailed with other men,
Oft times it was but me.

I saw great lands and kings and queens,
I saw them live and die.
I fought in many a random war,
None left alive but I.

But trading was my art of choice,
I dealt in gold and spice.
A fortune made and saved those years,
All bought with rightful price.

In one fair town I met a Dam,
Her hair as black as coal.
We spent our days and nights entwined,
Her soul became my soul.

We agreed upon a marriage date,
The event would be in June.
But then I found her dead at home,
Blood spilled beneath the moon.

The anger grew inside of me,
No drink could dare control it.
The killer I would surely find,
His skull I'd surely split.

I searched in every town and gale,
My rage content to grow.
Until I found him one cold night,
And killed with one swift blow.

But then the law was on me,
My life was on the run.
I traveled by the moon,
And slept beneath the sun.

A mighty voice disturbed my slumber,
The ranger he had found me.
A hangman's noose would be prepared,
For guilty was my plea.

As rope was cinched around my neck,
I asked for one last word.
The ranger shook his head,
So died with his own sword.

I killed all men that day,
But sorrow filled my heart.
Their wives and kids would surely cry,
Their lives now set apart.

My fortune I did give them,
All my spice and gold.
The widows no longer poor,
The children no longer cold.

The law no longer hunted,
My debt had been erased.
But sadness still o'come me,
My life was now a waste.

What was my worth in life,
Now lost without a mate?
Doomed to roam the world alone,
Love had come to me too late.

So here I stand before you now,
My hands stained red with blood.
My heart has been forsaken,
My lover 'neath the mud."

I walked away from Rod Othello,
My own heart filled with grief.
A brave soul left to wander,
A love affair too brief.