the last gunslinger (a tavvy tale)

He was the last of the old generation
Where you got licensed by mail invitation
No training, no courses, no learning of laws
You just had to be tough, gritty, no matter you flaws
22 years he had been a bouncing man
A former pro boxer, bouncing not his life's plan
Time rolls by as it relentlessly will
Drugs, sex and violence, he'd seen his fill
The bald eagle or Bonny his radio call sign
Have you ever met a man you looked up to? He was mine.

The old horse full of wisdom and advice
He always knew what to do, when to be violent when to be nice
The struggles you find in the bouncer role
Is not to let violence enter you whole
You need to embrace violence as a necessary tool
But you can't let it control you, can't be a fool
Bonny was the man that gave me my pass
All the other men wanted to give me the ass
He took me under his wing, and shaped the man I am
He was direct and honest not given to flim flam

First time I met him I thought he was weak
Two men abused him but he turned the other cheek.
He proved to me later that night
That my initial interpretation, wrong and not right.
By taking apart a man I thought would smash him
He did it in a way that was unpleasant and grim
The man in question was going off his face
Thickly muscled, tall, he took up a lot of space
He struck the man that had caused him angst
The hit man fell like a stack of planks
Bonny ran in, no fan-fare no screaming shout
With two thunderous blows the bald eagle laid him out
All this done in the briefest of moments
My earlier thoughts now seeking atonements
Back to the scene because I went astray
Back to the story of what Bonny did say

He put his hand on my chest,
Saying "boy, give it a rest."
It was as firm a command as I had ever got
So I settled back, my temper running hot
We watched them walk off to their car and go
I asked him why we were so lenient, I wanted to know
I, or many of the other staff would have rushed in
The protection of pride and ego our sin
I queried him again, why we had allowed them to go, no strife
With a withering glare, he said, "the one on the left had a knife"
A shocked look registered, I turned and bonny I faced
For it was the man on the right being rude, it was him I'd have laid waste
He said to me, "look son,
That is a fight you wouldn't have won"
At best you would have been hospitalised,
or you'd be dead, it was a trap no lies"
I like you boy you're a surprise package
Big, quick and agile, but you need to drop your baggage
You keep going the way you are,
You won't be working here you aren't yet up to par
I decided to heed his worldly advice
He had saved me from stupidity and paying the ultimate price

He was the man that glued us together
Shaped us, moulded us and made us better
The teacher, the leader and the boss
When he left the Tavvy it was a massive loss
But that was a lot later as this story goes
So await and see where my next musing flows