Rotgut Poems | Examples

Rotgut and Gut Rot

Red balloons with clowns attached
Lock your doors 
Keep the windows latched
So many people
Knocking at the door
One, two, three, four, 
Ten or twelve or maybe more
Disembodied voices
Screaming in my head
I found their bodies sleeping
Underneath my bed
Which I am now so far from
But still they haunt my head
There’s a man in the corner
There’s a child on the ceiling
I don’t know what’s over there
But still I hear it screaming
Howling echoes in my mind

Demons dance before my eyes
Seems I forgot my pills again
I search for them with hazy vision
Check the bottle once then twice
Then with horror I realize
Why it is that I’m so nervous
Why I appear so tense
The pills offset each other
So I’m not making sense
And then my head begins to spin
My vision darkens yet again
I fall to the floor
And the beasts dance no more
But still the voices loudly roar

Among the lot, before consciousness slips
“Leave him be. He's just drunk again.”

The Return To Rotgut Part 6 the End

Then the man without a name
Approached me, from the crowd
He looked me in the eye
And I heard his say out loud
That what happened there that day
The spirits of the mound
Have finally found a way
To recapture scared ground

I broke down into tears
As I felt I must confess
"Listen to me Shaman,
I'm more guilty than the rest
It was a dozen years ago
When the Army was my life
And we came and killed your people
I was part of all this strife "

"But you were something different"
As he reached into his pocket
Holding in his hand
Was a shiny silver locket
As I took it from his hand
And looked inside to see
A picture of a Squaw
Standing over Me.

"When your mother died
You were taken from her hand
You were raised by whites
Then returned to take our land"
"So, why was I spared
Why me and me alone" 
He just pointed to the mound
"Cause what you've written on a stone"

The END

Return To Rotgut Part 5

The evening turned to morning 
As I awoke from my slumber
The fire in the hearth
Now, just a glowing ember
I didn't stop for coffee
As I headed for the door 
And there, I stared in disbelief 
As the sky began to pour

In the street, one by one
The town folk grouped together
And there in the center
Stood the man with hat and feather
He said, this is the rain
That will wash away their sins
And as the poultice melts
Change the color of their skins

I hardly could believe it
When I looked around to see
The town now full of Indians
I thought, How could this be
Then right before my eyes
I saw buildings sinking down
The rain was so intense 
It made soft, the arid ground 

Every trace of White mans world
Just disappeared from sight
As I stood there ankle deep 
In this messy muddy plight
The rain turned into drizzle 
And the people lost their trance
Some began to sing
While, others took to dance

To be continued..............

The Return To Rotgut Part 4

I asked Him, what he wanted
To save the people of this town
But he only shook his head
As he looked back at the mound
"I seek no Gold or Silver
No payment from your hand
I know it's hard for White men
For this to understand"

Then he looked into the sky
As he said a little prayer
Did some tribal dance
And threw powder in the air
I didn't have a choice
But, to put my trust in him
So I begged His god for mercy
And to wash away our sins

He didn't waste much time
As to treating of the sick
He went from house to house
With the pouch, full of his mix
He applied it to their foreheads
As he took it from his tote
And I have to admit it
It smelled like rancid goat

I watched him as he worked
Well into the night
They started looking better
I believed they'd be all right
But I myself exhausted
Found a bed unoccupied
Slid between the sheets
Then quickly closed my eyes

To be continued..............

The Return To Rotgut Part 3

A single soldier stayed
To guard against the animal
From digging up the grave
He felt awful for the Injuns
Disgusted by their plight
So from his bag he took a chalk
And upon a stone, did write

These Injuns lie beneath this land
Through no fault of their own
Their only crime, was to take  stand
And defend their rightful home 
1856

Part 3

It’s been 12 years since that day
Now the wind blew from the east
A strange scent in the air
Which frighten, all the beast
And with the wind came sickness
A plague upon the town
It left the people, weak and feeble
As the virus spread around

But I alone stayed well
And never once felt ill
But at the edge of town
What I saw gave me a chill
He wore feathers in his hat
And a cloak made of rawhide
But he didn't have his gun
Just a pouch tied to his side

He made his way, straight to me
As I stood there on the walk
Then using broken English
He began to talk
He said that in his sack
There contained an ancient cure 
That could make the town's folk free
From all that they've endured 

To be continued

The Return To Rotgut Part 1

They say he had three Mothers
The Earth, the Wind, and Water
And His father was the Sun
And the Moon was his daughter 
He wore a gun in his belt
With clothing made from hide
As He walked, He made no sound
And never broke his stride

Folks say he was part Cherokee
Others say, part Crow
There wasn't any clarity
There was no way to know
He wore a shiny locket
On the inside of his shirt
That he took out of the pocket
Of a dead Comanche’s' skirt 

The feather in his hat
Made the white folk all take notice
And on his belt a sack
With an ancient Aztec Poultice
The myth, was he knew magic
Taught by spirits raised by  Shamans
And because His birth was tragic
He was thought to be a Demon 

As he passed through our town
The People, looked away
Afraid of being cursed
They where glad he didn't stay
The sun sank in the East
As the wind blew from the West
And he walked in a straight line
Like a man bent on a quest

He climbed up to the foothills
Where the Injuns made their graves
There he raised them from the dead
As he made them all his slaves
No one knew his purpose 
For the dead upon that mound
Not at least, until that day
He came back to this town

Rotgut Sheriff

I am the Sheriff of Rotgut, come to the town saloon
We need new recruits, let’s test your belly and guts
Taste the spirits; in the shootout you’ll need a boon
I am the sheriff of Rotgut, come to the town saloon
Bring your mere and ride it well to the dusty dune
Shake your hips well, celebrate if shoot off the butts 
I am the sheriff of Rotgut, come to the town saloon
We need new recruits, let’s test your belly and guts


Date: 9.8.2014

Old Rotgut

It was around dusk when I rode into town
 Then to the saloon  I made my  strut
 I reckoned I'd gulp some whiskey down
 Before leaving this dusty town called RotGut

 I entered the saloon and took a seat
 Ad then started downing the amber liquid treat
 It was sometime later that night
 When a youngster challenged  me to a gunfight

 I  finished my  drink and then replied
 Let's settle this outside
 So  we  stepped outside to exchange lead
 But when the dust had settled, the youngster lay dead

 It was around dawn when I rode out of town
 Perhaps in the next town I'd  make the cut
 But from a gunfight  I would  never back down
As one man bit the dust in old RotGut

A Town Called Rotgut

saloons are just another form of dealing with depression
I hate drinking away nights
saying yes to bartenders
saying no to reality 
take a dip in the cold waters
harsh and real
life is for losers I thought
but maybe I should really try living sometime

A Town Called Rotgut

as I sit in the dingy saloon. Dehydrated and week.journey so long,I hardly feel 
my feet.town name, town name, plays over in my head.the name rot and gut is 
playing over instead. my insides are the first, and the second are the same.my 
travils have prevented me from from feeling sane.as I turn my head, to view all 
that is around.the whiskey and beer is flowing so sound.relief ,relief, is all I 
need.so I raise my hand for the bartender to see.the room is humming,with an 
awkward sound.one as if, just alchaholics around.as I order my drink,I feel a 
pain inside, been to long, no alchahol to be found.as the drink gets slammed in 
front of my being, the name of the town releases it's fear, rotgut,rotgut once 
again in my mind.as I look around,there is no real cowboy to be found.i pick up 
my boots and head for the door.never again will I drink no more.making my way 
out the dusty town,my life looks better, no rotgut around.

A Trip To Rotgut

A trip to rotgut
I rode my horse in to a town called Rotgut
As I rode up the main street I looked at the old saloon.
The doors was closed to traffic for some odd reason it wasn't noon.
I notice at the front of the sheriff's office a hangman's plank.
For today, they were hanging billy boy Taylor for killing the bar tender
 after the poker game .
 Little jill was his bill for the night. But was not going to be.
Rotgut was a mean town hanging was a weekly thing. But today there would be 
no.
For my guns would blaze to save a man in rotgut.

A Night In Rotgut the Saga of Zack Waverly

I've been insulted, 
And been challenged
Been shot at
And been cursed
But listenin'
To these locals
I know things 
can't get worst

The music, 
if you call it
Missing notes
from missing keys
But no one pays 
attention
When the player 
Cuts the cheese

The dance hall girls
Are dancing 
Like a heard of
Buffalo 
And they're danced 
Their way from places
That I don't want 
To Know

They call 'Her' a 
Saloon Girl, right !
Maybe 30 years ago
and if that
Dress was
Any tighter
We'd all sure 
Have a show

And that train wreck
Called the owner
She's still smiles 
As she greets
Every cowpoke 
That walks in
Even though
She's lost her teeth

Now, I'm sittin'
In the corner
Of the only
Bar in town
And if one more
Local talks to me
I'm gonna shoot'em down

A Town Called Rotgut

The road into Rotgut looked like every road,
in every town I've seen, dusty
I've traveled through so many towns
and this town is no different
I'm tired, just looking for the saloon
and a guy, a drifter, name of Zack
Sent me a wire, needs help with a bank job
They call me Ricardo, an outlaw
Been on the run since I can remember
Enough about that, I'm thirsty
The trail dust is still choking me
Well, its not much of a saloon,
but it will do
Bartender!Give me a drink!
Leave the bottle!
Hello miss, thanks but no thanks
Here on business, don't have time
Looking for a guy name is Zack
Do you know him?
At the table, thanks
You Zack? Got your wire
Ricardo? Yes the same
I'll be around, but not for long
In fact Zack, after looking at you I'll be moving on
No offense, you look like someone who runs a dry good store
And I didn't come here to baby sit
So just pay me for showing up and I'll move on
That won't be a problem will it?
Didn't think so
Thanks for the whiskey, told the bartender you'll pay for it
I'm keeping the bottle, you don't mind
Hope not, I'm tired and really don't want to kill you
Good day miss
Yep, like every town I've seen

A Town Called Rotgut

Once a dry dusty town called Rotgut,
Saw tornadoes and torrential rain,
As she walked down the lane hurriedly but,
Water smashed her out of the brain,

She then entered a famous city saloon,
Absolutely wet and her clothes dripping,
All elegant sitting, born with a silver spoon,
Many eyes gazed, the looks were stripping,

Shrinking herself as she sat on one table,
And ordered one quarter of best wine,
Toughest man was telling an old fable,
Tale of passionate he and she swine,

Curly blonde hair covering her teary eyes,
Recalls the night, how quickly the time flies!



Written on 26/7/14
Contest- A town called Rotgut
Sponsor- Jerry T Curtis

Rotgut

I'm stuck in the town of "Rotgut",
not far from San Antone!
I work in the "Silver Dollar",
a saloon, that's quite well known!

I'm what's known as the bar-keep,
I can't remember for how long?
It could be more than twenty years,
but, there agin I could be wrong!

There ain't much to do in Rotgut!
There really ain't much action!
In fact, the Silver Dollar,
seems to be the main attraction!

Danny's our piano man.
He loves to sit and play!
Our three Dance Hall girls are getting old
and have seen their better day!

Most nights, it's the same ole crowd,
doin' what gets done!
Jud and his pals, dealin' cards,
drinkin' beer and havin' fun!

Spanky, my ole hounddog,
lies sleepin' on the floor!
At the spot, he spends most all his time,
just inside the bars front door!

Usually, there's a stranger or two,
drinkin' at the bar!
If they're not stayin' in Rotgut,
we don't care, who they are!

Sheriff Dan, does check them out!
He lets them know this fact!
If troublemaking is their aim,
then get out, and don't come back!

That's Rotgut, as I see it!
Although, it cannot be denied,
it's a lonely, dirty, rundown place,
but, it's where us folks reside!

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