The Night Wears a Sombrero

Republic Pictures, 1945
Synopsis by A. Pope

A private eye sits contemplating life
And neon signs, his bottle, urban strife.
A damsel in distress walks in. She's hot,
But dangerous, afraid that she'll be caught.
"By whom?" our educated PI asks.
"It's not the cops," she breathes. "Some guys in masks."
"I see," says Hero (Tom). "I think I know
These guys—from south of here, in Mexico."
The blonde, though frightened, fusses at her skirt.
Its hem slips upwards. "Please, Tom, don't get hurt."
He sneers and laughs, drags on his smoke, and sighs.
"My heart's my only weakness, not tough guys."
The chippie's name is Vera Delacruz
(No relative of Frenchie Gilles Deleuze).
Her legs are long, her stockings silk. Their seams
As straight as Tom's "imagination" dreams.
So off to Tijuana they both go
Not speaking, though, of Michaelangelo.
Instead, its gams and gats and jewelry—
This last is Vera's (not, though, honestly).
There's chases, murders, bodies, fights galore
That leave Tom feeling often pretty sore.
The plot twists like old US Highway 1
From Carmel south through Big Sur to Big Sun.
The lighting is expressionistic, sure
To try more aged eyes, but they'll endure.
Alert! Dear Reader, spoil I here the plot
Or, since it's very standard, maybe not.
Things end quite nasty. Everybody dies,
Save Tom, who's broken, though he never cries.
But Vera's dead. Tom's life still sums to naught.
He drinks himself to sleep in final shot.

Survivor Poetry Contest
Trigger 43, Form V (Heroic Couplet)