~~~
Another High Noon 1
~~~
T’was bad ground & holy ground
in this American ghost town
in which the haunted saloon whistled its tune
which sounded forth shrilly especially around high noon…
~
There was no more whiskey
no more tables no more chairs
one wall was missing & half the roof
dust was thick where a rooster roosted
I wobbled on the last stool at the counter
Holy Mary the barmaid poured me a shot
a shot of grace
& I gulped it down.
~
In one corner stood some Tea-Party fumblers
in another some Occupy-Wall-Street tumblers
all were a-worry over the top 10% of the rich paying a fair share
but the flapping of the right & the rapping of the left
these wingers of the left & the right
never got together & that afternoon was icy as dark dark night
here
in the ghost town called Love.
~
There’s bad ground & holy ground
in this American ghost town
where the haunted saloon whistles its windy tune
which sounds forth so shrilly especially around high noon…
~
(Copyright Clyde Collins 2011)
~~~
photo
Gary Cooper "The Hanging Tree" 1959