Straight Razor

Sauntering through an antique store the other day, I chanced upon some old straight razors on display. One struck my fancy and upon it my eyes were cast. I couldn't help but pause and muse about its past. A sheath of ivory encased its blade - 'twas a beauty I beheld! I wondered by whose steady hand it had once been held. It could've been wielded by a hobo or tycoon, I suppose, As he deftly trimmed the mustache sprouting 'neath his nose! Perhaps it was used by the town barber in old Cripple Creek, To scrape the stubble from a feisty old prospector's cheek! Or maybe Colonel Carrington used it on his perilous journey, Leading his troops westward to foredoomed Fort Phil Kearny. Perchance it was brandished by the impetuous Colonel Custer, For his morning shave ere meeting his final muster! Buffalo Bill may have used it to trim the goatee on his chin, Carefully grooming it, so as not to nick his leathery skin! Could it have purged the fuzz from the mug of Billy the Kid, Before Pat Garrett cornered him and lowered on him the lid? Whatever its storied past it now lies there in all its splendor, For folks to admire and about its antiquity to conjecture! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)