The death of Jesse James

by CD Richards

When his cousins got shot, Jesse hatched a new plot,
he'd recruit some fresh blood for his gang;
he invited them back to his small, cosy shack
where they plotted, drank whiskey and sang.

Then he glanced at the wall, where he saw, to his gall
a small picture did crookedly hang;
so the outlaw stood up, and he put down his cup;
as he touched it, the old picture swang.

Robert Ford took his chance, while the gang looked askance,
and shot James in the back with a bang.
Why'd you shoot that poor man? He was head of the clan!
asked a man in his broad, western twang.

The reward was too great to let it pass, mate;
as for guilt, I have nary a pang...
Now I'm no longer poor, smiled the cruel traditor,
once he heard the cash register clang.

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Today's word: Traditor (n.) a traitor, one who betrays another.

It was on this day (April 3) in 1882 that Jesse James was shot and killed by a member of his own gang. The story is above.

Why we need this word when we have the perfectly acceptable "traitor" is anybody's guess. The addition of a "d" doesn't justify it, as far as I can see. Possibly "traditor" is an older version - I don't know.

My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

Thanks for reading.

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Pretty much as it happened, I believe

A chapter in the book A Potpourri of Poetic Curiosities

The death of Jesse James

by CD Richards

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