taste of a dreamless frontier

by Elyce | Feb 20, 2024 | wild west

I dare say the poetry’s been kicked right out of me.
Done broke the legs off
Smithereens

I collapse
Forfeit with dust between my teeth, taste of a dreamless frontier
Manifest in shambles
A pioneer with a wagon, destined for shelter, found and counted

I dare say the sheen on this life has just about done me in
Been shattering
I’m ruined in the palm of safety

as the sheriff

by Elyce | Feb 19, 2024 | wild west

the man’s been sliced through three times
and with reason
aloof is not a free pass
still he walks tall

I wait for the signal that’s coming
a hand shifting to his holster
a motion calling his horse
as the sheriff, I take him to the station
before he’s stopped smiling
read him his wrongs
slam the cage shut
another danger off the sidewalks

it’s just a fact, though
the man’s a stag
he extends long legs in his cell
unaware he’s not at home in bed
the man’s forgotten his hat and his drawl
but he struts right out of prison
dusty, slightly beaten, and ready for the day

this one was sliced before I got to him
I don’t understand how he’s still walking
I keep expecting a duel
to see his boots kick up dirt in a proposition
reminding me who runs this town

this man is not trying to be an outlaw
i’m gonna stay the sheriff
keep order
he’ll look out the window at me
while i patrol imaginary 1881
suddenly noticing he smells like
uncharted territory