Vigilantes

By Peter Ellis

There’s a strange comfort

In a friend who doesn’t shy away

From your anger

But emboldens it

They hold you tight and say:

“I’m here for you

There’s people I want to hurt, too.”

We joked about being vigilantes

A truly unstoppable duo

One terrifying team

I think our kind of justice

Wouldn’t have been swift

But it would be exact

We knew pain intimately

Our unseen third accomplice

Locking us in a room

With all who did us wrong

May what finally got me

To enjoy the sight of blood

That reality never came to pass

A recurring joke that would never last

I don’t mind not living ‌that dream

Because I’ve got you on my team

Your gentle strength caressed my rage

And set it free, for the first time in an age

What an honour to have you 

Ride or die until the end

A lover, a hater, a fighter, 

A friend.

By Peter Ellis