FOR HONOR

I.
Carter Gray was a retired marine,
who’d done two tours in Afghanistan,
discharged at thirty, he moved to Utah
to raise cattle on a big spread of land.

He’d worked dawn to dusk every day
for two years to make it thrive,
when the money came in, he struck it big,
‘organic beef’ commanded prices quite high.

One day in town at his favorite place,
an Italian restaurant with great chicken parm,
he caught the eye of a pretty waitress
when by accident he brushed her arm.

She had olive skin and raven-dark hair,
soft, brown eyes full of deep mystery,
“Sepidah,” was the name on her sweet lips,
when Carter asked who she might be.

The next time he went out on the town,
this lovely woman was upon his arm,
they talked all night, with no awkwardness,
he was hopelessly lost to her charms.

This went on for weeks, until on spring day,
Carter dropped to his knee with a ring,
Sepidah smiled, said,”I want to say yes,
but before we do, you must know something.

“See I was born far away in Tehran,
but was raised here, eighteen years a Muslim.
when I dated a boy not of my faith
my life turned to the brutal and grim.

“My father Selim and one of my brothers
thought that I’d brought the family disgrace.
They found me one day walking with John,
and stuck a loaded pistol in my face.

“John jumped in front, he died for me,
bought me the time to run away.
My brother, the shooter, was given life,
but for lesser charges is my father’s stay.

“He has sworn that he will never rest
until he’s made me ‘pay fore my crime,’
And he’s already proven that he’ll go after
any poor boyfriend of love of mine.

“To make things worse, he doesn’t know
about how afterwards I changed my faith,
For his Christian daughter he’ll be enraged,
True Believers must kill apostates.”

To make the point she motioned to
the pistol she carried in her purse.
He nodded and said,”I didn’t know,
but to be honest, I have fought worse.

“And I won’t give up the love of my life
because her dad’s a damned extremist,
to do that would be a surrender to
the designs of a damned terrorist.”

So he put the ring upon her,
to marry her would be his honor.

II.
They had a small ranch wedding,
a few friends saw him kiss his wife,
then settled into the daily routines
of a comfortable, working-ranch life.

Sepidah stopped with the waitressing,
taking up the office inside their home,
she helped to manage to business side,
while over the pastures Carter roamed.

And like every new married couple
they had their trials and their tests,
but when he watcher her sleep at night
Carter knew that he had picked the best.

A year passed by and Carter came
riding in from the round-up one day,
when he saw his beloved on the phone,
her face had gone ashen gray.

When she hung up, he turned to her,
Said,”What was that all about?”
“It was my sister, calling me in secret,
it’s my father…they’ve let him out.

“And worse still, it seems his lawyer
has brought about my greatest fear.
The bastard managed to track me down,
my father knows that I’m living here…”

Carter nodded and without a word
went into town to see Sherrif Boyce.
He explained to him the situation in full,
saying,”Violence is not our first choice.”

Boyce, he nodded, deep in thought,
then looked over to Deputy Steve,
when he looked back he shook his head,
saying,”What do you expect from me?

“This man, he served all of his time,
and was released without parole.
If I were to give you a guard right now,
I’d be a bigoted Islamophobe.”

Carter then blinked, completely stunned,
asking,”Are you friggin’ kidding me?
This man once tried to murder her,
and it’s known fact his views are extreme!”

But Boyce just shook his head and said:
“I won’t have us sued for discrimination.
If your wife is worried, get a court order,
that is my official recommendation.”

Carter snarled at the spineless worm,
his anger growing, hard to restrain,
he said,”You wouldn’t even be in that desk,
were it not for your father’s good name!

“He memory you dishonor,
That badge you do dishonor!”

III.
It was three days later fate arrived,
when the two were eating breakfast.
An old van pulled up towards the house,
“Come on out!’Selim cried in a rasp.

They were prepared for this event,
and went up to their bedroom.
Sepidah took up the pump-shotgun
since her aim wasn’t as good.

Carter grabbed his trusty AR-10,
and risked a glance out the window,
Selim, a brother, and two cousins,
with pistols in hand stood below.

He opened the window and called to them:
“This does not have to be blood and tears.
If you value your lives, leave us alone,
get yourselves far away from here!”

Selim and the young men opened fire,
riddling glass and wood walls with lead.
Carter took a breath, drawing a bead,
and shot a cousin right through the head.

The man collapsed, the others charged,
smashing headlong through the door.
The last thing that Sepidah’s brother heard,
was a deafening shotgun’s roar.

She fired again, hitting the last cousin,
taking of half of his left foot.
Her father fired his gun blindly back,
the lamps and tables all shook.

A bullet caught dear Sepidah,
winging her hard in the thigh.
She cried out as her father advanced,
red murder raging in his eyes.

A sudden shadow then fell over her,
and three shots echoed ‘cross the room.
He father tumbled over backwards,
crashing downwards to his doom.

In the distance a siren blared,
Growing louder as it drew near,
Deputy Steve walking into the house,
gasping,”Good lord, what happened here?”

“They thought they were dishonored,”
Said Carter,”They came looking for honor.”

IV.
Boyce arrived and stared in disbelief
At the bloody and violent scene.
“Guess restraining orders didn’t work!
said Carter,"Luckily, she learned from a marine.”

Carter turned then the Deputy Steve,
who was busy trying to record it all,
he said,”Steve, I really think you should run
in the next sheriff’s election this fall.”

The ambulance came, and took them away,
on the ranch did people descend,
evidence was bagged and statements taken,
they declared it ‘reasonable self-defense.’

The media came and they got it wrong,
when they didn’t, they openly lied.
the pundits for days argued it out,
the story flourished, was forgotten, and died.

Carter and Sepidah eventually came home,
and continued quietly with their lives,
her family never dared contact her again,
and Steve won the election in a landslide.

From that day on the town spoke of them
quite often in quiet, hushed words,
of a woman who’d faced down her mad father,
and a husband who could not be turned.

To stand with her was his honor,
It was a victory for true honor.