Poem: "All Hell Breaks Loose"

This poem was inspired by a discussion between kelkyag and janetmiles in the comments following "Stonewings."  It was sponsored by janetmiles.  Here, have more gargoyles.

For years, there had been rumors
of strange doings in New York --
muggers and robbers and rapists
suddenly snatched away from intended victims
and carried shrieking into the sky by shadowy wings.

The police dealt with it calmly --
they were, after all, also New Yorkers.
They tossed the babbling victims into a cell overnight.
By morning, the problem usually resolved
in sheepish apologies and confessions of too many drinks;
or if not, the men in white coats could be called
to take away the ones who kept talking crazy.

It wasn't until the advent of cell phone cameras
that someone actually managed to get proof
of what was really going on.
Soon there were too many pictures -- blurry and clear --
of gargoyles flying away with criminals
for anyone to ignore.
Not to mention the full-color photo
snapped by a New York Trash reporter
showing a gargoyle feeding its chicks.

There was a brief, heated debate over what to do.
Leave the gargoyles alone?
Order rocket launchers to shoot them down?
The police, still being New Yorkers,
decided to see if the gargoyles could be trained
like K-9 units with concrete wings.
After all, the argument went, they already knew
how to catch  the bad guys.  It was just a matter
of convincing them not to swallow.

The ruckus died down.
So did the crime rate.

Then one day, somebody gets the bright idea
to smuggle a few pairs of breeding gargoyles into Detroit
and all hell breaks loose.