Authors Note: The Vet and the flower child


Bunker fresh dug five of us set
cold, back to back, dreaming of
home

Come all you midnight riders
see what is left of me
I ride a range of my childhood
free and freedom knows me

Eyes scan the horizon
searching the trees
for a sniper

Soft from the blanket
a mind that is free
to see the truth of
everyday living
a cow poke
is what I'd be

Every sound register
cataloged
safe or to be burned

Peace maker
slips into a man's hand
like a part of his natural body
Dreams a power
of making the cowboy
come alive

Smell of sulfur fills the air
stench of burning flesh
hole cleared


Old tales in the books
picture the war
all an American lie
Tall and orderly
America he stands
power strong

Half track cuts a path
hitch a ride
silence is scary

See all you heroes
outlaws feel the wind
in the night catch
a glimpse of forever
in campfire fires
burning bright

Hung heart on the line of barb-wire
spreading the perimeter
triggers of mine set

Taste the love
of living under stars
of light
a cowboy's plight

Silver flash fills the sky
light sees shadows
torch lights all

Remembers some day
he will live forever
in the hearts of children

Audy Murphy blazing forth
last of the real cowboys
death at every sound

Rides his pony
across wilderness
watches the real sun and sets

Wish and want have lived
she is the answer
Gene kissed his horse

Saddle for a pillow
a sky filled
with used to bes
now, high riding stars

Her arms ward off the cold
shakes come from more than wind
"...hush a bye now my darling don't you cry..."

Camp fire
coffee steaming
in the tin cup of living
yesterday's dreams

Bobbie loosens the straps
that hold me to the bed
demons are resting for a while