Tag Archives: western

oh no, another one dead & gone

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Arizona 2026

~

from

A Ghost Town Called Love

by rawclyde!

2012

~

I, the ghost, glided outta there

hoovered by the hotel for a while

meditating

’til I noticed across the street

that the sheriff had hung another old girl-friend o’ mine

   from the hanging tree in front of his office…

~

I had asked him to stop doing that

but he’d done it again anyway

the corpse’s tattered dress

baring one smooth shoulder & her thighs

flapped like a flag

and the branch creaked like a harmonica

   as the sun sank behind a weathered building…

~

I found him locked inside a jail cell

contemplating his cowardism above a candle flame

“why’d you do that?” I howled

“She ruined your life,” retorted the sheriff

I shook miserably in the shadows of his office

emotionally wiped out I sat on the corner of his atilt desk

& moaned

   “She’s a dream that’ll never die.”

~

(Copyright Clyde Collins 2012)

~

Epilogue

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The town sheriff

one black lonesome partner

tilted back in a chair

by the hanging tree

~

Sheriff Isom Dart

got so lonely there

he packed a few things on a burro

melted into the brush

~

When the train

chug-chugged around the bend

it blew it’s whistle but kept going

without even slowing down

~

Now

there’s nothing there

whatever town was there

has melted into the earth

~

A couple lizards

dart from bush to bush

a bird perches on a cactus

   whispering wind…

~

(Copyright Clyde Collins 2012)

~~~

that’s my desire

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~

Diana the ghost

with the horizonless brains

she’s got the most

railroad track & smoothest trains

~

Diana Longtree

a floating miracle

so bumpity bump free

she’s downright biblical

~

She hoovers

near the ceiling

of the jail cell in which Sheriff Isom Dart

has locked himself for the night

~

Candle melting low

flickering

shadows waltzing

beckoning his eyes to close

~

Diana up there

an invisible cloud full of demonettes & desire

hoovering

awaits awaits

~

To slyly slip like a

secret agent

through the gateway

   of Isom’s dreams…

~

rawclyde!

~

from a ghost town called love

poetry collection

copyright clyde collins 2012

~

~

photos

from the movie one hundred rifles

raquel welch & jim brown

~

midnight at the oasis

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“Sorry but

whoever shoots at me

I hang”

said Sheriff Isom Dart

~

To the long-legged woman with

the noose

around her neck

Diana Longtree

~

This after she & he

had made robust love

under a full moon

infront of 6000 invisible Martians

~

He slapped the horse’s butt

&

she

   swang…

~

(Copyright Clyde Collins 2012)

~

~

Isom’s Luck

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I don’t know how it came to be

the koo koo bird & the bumble bee

Isom Dart & Diana Longtree

my eternal slavery

~

I don’t know why it is so

cold in the desert & hot in the snow

they get it on

I’m so slow

~

Jealousy

the brick in my chest

in my belly

comes to rest

~

A soft & gooey lump of clay

wiseless prideless love

an eager pollywog today

tomorrow a timid dove 

~

Sheriff Dart got the drop on her

pulled her in, locked her up

made a pot of coffee

& poured her a cup

~

He got a “thank you” that

I will never understand

he is one hell of a guy

& I am just a man

~

A dead man

that’s it

when you’re dead you’re just a ghost

   & Sheriff Isom Dart was a gracious host …

~

(Copyright Clyde Collins 2012)

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repercussion

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Oh the repercussions of

what I have done

are haunting me no end!

cries out the soul of

~

Town

Sheriff

Isom

Dart

~

He slips the key into his vest

straightens the badge on his chest

throws open the jail-cell door

walks out into the morning sunshine

~

There are birds chirping

a train hoots in the distance

a child is at play on the porch

but it’s all just the ghost town moaning

~

Then a bullet sings thru the air

splinters the wall nex’ his eyelash

a foul burst of dust blurrs his vision

alas, this is not Memory Lane

~

It’s

happening

right

now!

~

Sheriff Dart tumbles behind a

rusted chunk of mining works located

just right for the occasion

3 more bullets slice the air

~

“You shoulda never killed him, Dart!”

it’s a female voice

unmistakable

more lead smites and clangs

~

“No more excuses, Dart!”

zip

zippitty

zippp

~

How many lady friends did this feller have anyway?

muses the town sheriff

under the porch now

   digging his elbows into the dirt…

~

(Copyright Clyde Collins 2012)

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vignette:

a poem from the thrilling wanna-be book A Ghost Town Called Love by Rawclyde! 

photos:

Raquel Welch & Jim Brown had staring roles in 100 Rifles an action-packed 1969 western…

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