Dust and Dusk

In the vale where shadows crept at dusk
A masked man rode with silent tread
His name long lost, his purpose hushed
But death was sure where he was led

The dusty road beneath his steed  
Lay barren, cracked, and lined with sin
The whispers told of evil deeds
Of souls he’d sent to winds that spin

He wore a mask of tattered black
That veiled his face from Heaven’s light
And in his hand, the Colt intact  
Was quicker than the creeping night

At dusk, he came to deal his trade
Where blood and pride would often cross
A deadly jest, the game they played
The stakes, a life; the prize, the loss

No words were spoke, no mercy given
For justice was a fleeting ghost
And when the last red breath was driven
The masked man always stood the most

The sun would set behind the hills
A burning blaze of crimson sky
And in its glow, he dealt his will
A flash, a shot, a soft goodbye

He wandered towns none dared to name
Forgotten by the world’s regard
Yet all who faced his deadly aim  
Fell cold upon that dusty yard

His footsteps echoed in the night
As lawmen trembled, prayed, and cursed
For when he rode beneath that light
The Devil often rode in first

The townsfolk watched with bated breath
From windows cracked with years of grime
As dusk brought with it whispered death
And left behind a toll of crime

No grave was dug, no justice found
For none could match the speed he bore
And when the dusk had wrapped the town
He vanished, leaving nothing more

The moon hung high, the wind blew cold
His figure drifting through the vale
A nameless specter, tired and old
Yet bound forever to the trail

For in that mask, behind the veil
He bore a curse no man could break
To deal in death where shadows pale
And lose himself with each mistake

He’d tasted blood, and felt the steel  
Of life’s sharp edge upon his skin
And now, beneath the heavens’ wheel
He carried all that might have been

And still at dusk, in twilight’s breath
The masked man rides the roads unknown
Forever dealing cards of death
Forever lost, forever alone