By John Reddin
The Gnome sat on the garden lawn
He'd been there for some years
And if we tried to move it
You would see Gran'ma in tears
The Gnome was there when she was young
She'd tell us through her tears
And she was sure it saved her life
When in her teenage years
It seems that "Black-Jack" Higgins
Had escaped out of the Gaol
And was in the local area,
They had found out in the "Mail"
The "Mail" gave all the residents
The news of most events
And the feeling of this incident
Had everyone intense
They had nailed up all their windows
And bolted every door
There was no-one who would take a chance
In case "Black-Jack" they saw
But Gran'ma took it in her stride
To see what she could see,
Take a peek outside the door
Saying, "nothing frightens me!"
Well she went into the backyard
And then something made her turn
She saw "Black-Jack" in the shadows
Now escape, was her concern
She was running for the bushes
That surrounded the old place
And she thought she saw a smile
On the Gnome's angelic face
It was twenty feet to her right
As she made her running dash
And with "Black-Jack" just behind her
He'd be wanting more than cash
So she ran as fast as she could
Never looking where she ran
She had nearly made the rail fence
When she heard the awful "bang!"
Being brought up in the country
She could tell a rifle shot
And that was the noise that Gran heard
That had brought her to a stop
As she looked around in terror
Wondering why she felt no pain
She saw "Black-Jack" in the garden
With his head stuck in a drain
And the Gnome was now reclining
Near the victim's grubby feet
It had moved to trip up "Black-Jack"
Who was out cold, in defeat.
How the Gnome moved over
I doubt we will ever know
But when Gran re-tells the story
Her face comes up with a glow
That's the way our Gran'ma tells it
Every Summer every Fall
And that's why now we've decide
Not to move the Gnome at all.
