Wanderer's Epitaph

I was the shadow, I was the stranger,
I preferred, myself, the wanderer,
Knowing you're curious and wonder,
To your querries, I'll provide answer.
My life was in my tattered sack,
Everything I needed on my back,
A half empty Marlboro pack
And an even emptier bottle of Jack.
The world was my confession,
Although my faith was in recession,
My errors, my sole possessions,
Never made many concessions.
I played my hand dealt by fate,
Without a thought of time and date,
No one cared if I was late,
None had cared, so none would wait.
I always did play the game,
But never got the wealth and fame,
And so I'll forever remain
The dark stranger without a name.

The Duel

And so we met face to face,
And immediately took fighting stances,
Although different time and place,
Same damn circumstances.
To this tough enemy,
Residing in my mind,
Invisible, but in my eye,
I can't stay blind.
And with a bellowing growl,
AMplified by the tonics & gins,
The beast pounces and howls,
And thus, the duel begins.
A gut wrenching blow to my heart,
Entailed by an attack on my reason,
But in defence I quickly dart,
And unveil my ultimate weapon.
Now each blow thrown, misses,
Diverted by my pen,
They now scar the paper,
While my armor thickens.
And so I tame the beast,
Which now regains its den,
THe battle is won, for now at least,
And I lay down my pen.
And as I leave this fight,
With the beast back in its cage,
I return into the light,
With my trophy in hand, this page.