Wooded Cottage of Highwayman

Nestled deep in the tawny, drab woodland Sedate cottage neither haughty nor grand Sparse hovel of unassuming, itinerant brigand Martial decor of detached highwayman starkly bland The etched path sculpted by intemperate hand No manicured garden on the scrubby strand Briers and brambles errant straggler must withstand Thatched clapboards stable his stallion firebrand Unruly swine garnish acorns from scraggly wasteland Buried deep in his cellar pilfered contraband Per chance drifter did the terrain assay And chose that toilsome, forsaken way A spartan welcome hauteur did convey No lodgings, accoutrements could sway If for grace, mercy they did pray Only a cold shoulder he did relay If they tested his temperance and sued for trite parley He reconnoitered their belongings through wordplay If no net value they were beguiled to betray Their worthless lives he did indignantly slay