Really Nice but Tough as Nails
A ballad about a double murder
She built her house of brick, so long ago
It weathered storms, withstood the summer sun
Her husband flew the friendly skies
But everything once-living dies
So after 40 years, his life was done
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
A prisoner waiting for his judgment day
She raised two boys before her husband passed
Ivy League degrees both had in hand
A loving family deeply proud
And she refused to cry out loud
When both of them moved far across the land
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
One of her sons was taken much too soon
She buried him beside his father’s grave
To lose a child at any age
Can fill the heart with pain and rage
But memories lingered of the love she gave
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
Her other son came often as he could
Although she was confined now to her bed
She wouldn’t leave her house of brick
Or fall for any feeble trick
“I’ll die at home or not at all,” she said
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
Hired women helped her get along
Assisting her in living day-to-day
At 97 years of age
She knew that soon she’d turn life’s page
And all her sorrows soon would pass away
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
A Christmas visit from her loving son
Each thinking that it well could be the last
Determining to do it right
They stayed up late and talked all night
Surrounded by the ghosts of Christmas past
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
After New Year’s day, a man came by
Bearing fresh baked cookies on a plate
From her room, she heard her son
Voices raised then it was done
And she was left to wonder at his fate
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
She called out to her son all day and night
Until she lost her voice, he never came
She would not eat again that day
Or any other, sad to say
She wet the bed and felt the sting of shame
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
Awakened by strange sounds she prayed and prayed
Please, God, let this be a friendly face
But he who grabbed her was a stranger
Truly she was now in danger
He bound and dragged her to a darkened place
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
From a faint, she wakened to the smell
Of gasoline and smoke, the room on fire
And in the flickering fire’s light
She saw her son, now dead, ignite
Her gasp, her last, then caused her to expire
Really nice but tough as nails they say
A filthy shame she had to go that way
The evil man who took her life
Without a gun, without a knife
Sits in a cell and waits for judgment day
About the Creator
Denise Shelton
Denise Shelton writes on a variety of topics and in several different genres. Frequent subjects include history, politics, and opinion. She gleefully writes poetry The New Yorker wouldn't dare publish.
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