Hunchback And The Cripple

The hunchback and the cripple were stood upon the corner,
Haggling for a nickel, the full price of a murder,
The wino held his hand out looking for loose change
To buy himself some fortified, to lose himself again.

The whore fluttered her mascara, her offer was obscure,
A disguise for the coppers who pulled up in their car,
Her pimp did not defend her as handcuffs were applied,
The homeless vagrant sees all of this from the doorway where he lies.

A gentleman of merit waits for the midnight train,
Impatiently, he checks the time on his silver watch and chain,
The wide boys who have seen this, mug him to the ground,
The wino, who's a witness, never seen nor heard a sound.

Meanwhile, on the corner, the hunchback and the cripple,
Are getting out of order as the price of murder triples,
Two more shiny nickels are glinting like a blade
As the pimp puts up the ante with a dollar tender bade.

Blood flows on the platform as the wideboys head for home,
While the gentleman of merit let's out a low moan,
It's drowned out by the thunder of the midnight tubeway train,
That rumbles through the wino's belly causing him to puke again.

The vagrant turns his collar to the howling, wind lashed rain,
He spies the silver dollar and bends to make his claim,
The hunchback snarls in anger as the cripple draws his blade,
Then the pimp draws his revolver and blows them all away.

The whore, from the rear window of the car that holds the cops,
Looks out upon the pimp whose hands are now in cuffs,
A knife lies in the gutter, around which fresh blood ripples,
Blood from the homeless vagrant, the hunchback and the cripple.

Three nickels for a dollar, a gamble for a life,
In these days of deprivation, aggravation's rife,
The whore, she pays the penalty, the vagrant pays the price,
While the gentleman of merit and the wino drink the prize.