Long Punchers Poems

V.
He could hold his breath over a minute,
bullets hit water, didn’t penetrate it,
he’d used this trick before against his foes,
water stopped slugs fast, not many did know.

When he rose again the demons were out,
so Sol...

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III.
He kept off the roads to avoid their eyes,
through scrub and dry grass, onwards he did ride,
skirting north of the ranch, behind a ridgeline,
until he stopped to see what he could find.

Sol crested the ridge...

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II.
The man said, “There is not much land these days,
it’s probably not a good place to stay.”
Sol said, “Ah, well, I’d been having that fear,
but I like honestly, I’ll buy the next beer.”

The off-putting man...

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...It was early fall when the trouble came
to the Sperry’s and the Circle-S Ranch,
a dozen bandits came riding in hard,
shooting their guns in an entrance grand,
they thought none would dare make a stand,
but the punchers...

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I.
The letter had come in Nevada’s north,
when Sol had been enjoying a blonde whore,
only to see it slip under the door,
he finished with her, but enjoyed it no more.

After she had gone, he read while...

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This is the place the ’punchers come
when it is time to drink their pay,
ride in from the hilly rangelands
to forget cattle for a day.

Norma in the kitchen will cook
beef and spuds for this roving horde,
her...

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Rudolph Sperry was a ranch-owner’s son,
and rode hard for his Circle-S brand,
helping punchers herd cattle 'cross the plains,
in Nebraska’s western Sand Hill lands,
he wasn’t that bad for a young man,
but even though he daily risked...

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IV.
Their faces looked shocked when they saw the flames,
looking at each other for someone to blame,
then Sol cleared his throat, and they look to him,
their leader stepped out, his eyes cold and dim.

“I didn’t expect...

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I was just walking down the street
when it hit me
a quick jab….followed
by a crushing right cross.
I staggered….stunned
by the suddenness of
a seemingly unprovoked attack.
Life, fate, Karma…WHAT!!!
I covered up, rolled, bobbed left,
feinted right, slid along the ropes
found...

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Cresting the rise, a glare in his eyes.
Squinting as sharp shards of sun
reflect off the river.
His gloved hand instinctively shadows his face.

Dust in the wind, talcum powder thin
coating, caressing, coloring
grass, leaves, cowboys and cattle
all shades...

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The world is made up of bystanders, upstanders, and victims.
The bystanders are horrified when their neighbors are falsely accused.
Offended when they see blatant misbehaviors, aggressors, punchers, slappers.
Relieved they are not targeted, the bystanders often become...

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By the time the sun's faded o’er the prairie
well I’m just about as tired as tired can be
My horse has been fed and all the tack is clean
after a biscuit and a few campfire beans

I...

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In a wide street of commuters and passers by
rare is road disorder, measured in a small scale
busy minds, walking legs, punchers of devices,
a quick censors and smart gadgets top the stats
sitting, walking, eating or talking,...

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