Western

The world spills its dazzling designs

past the lip of the arroyo into the empty

earthen jars of my waiting my anticipating

a rain that will pepper the dust

of my trail to here

I have packed canteens of water

parcels of food into the saddlebag

I hoist over my shoulder the horse

long dead from the heat monotony

and hopelessness of the trudge

through the desert

nothing left to break its fall

I have come to your town to remember

the sun on your face the freckles across

your brow the crooked bump of your nose

your cheek lying on mine in sweet repose

the earth woman married us under

the rocky outcrop you blushed a deep innocence

I turned my face to the sky and laughed

like a man released from the gallows

you were my new life that I soon forgot to live

Few other places attract me now

the firmament tightens the miles stretch

to infinity a rough road always ahead

I must walk it until the sun sets

and the night embraces your memory

then I will dream of riding again

of your tender design

as we lay together cheek to cheek