Let Me Lie
By Gunslinger
I stood in that adobe- With a pistol in my hand... At my feet the skeleton That used to be a man. In the dust, a rusty six-gun- Among the finger bones... Left the testimony, That he did not die alone. The cloth which lay in tatters- Once had been his clothes... A dried and cracking gun rig- His name nobody knows. There beneath the ribcage- That served as prison bars... I saw the tarnished silver, Of a Texas Ranger star. I thought, "You played your hand out- This is the place you fell, No doubt you slew an honor guard, To escort you to Hell. A warrior, aye, a fighting man- Who died here all alone. And all the monument you want, Or need, is in these bones!" I took my hat off briefly- Piled some stones before the door... And rode away and left him- Just the way he was before. And if there be an epitaph- This is what I'd say... "When I die, just let me lie... The way the Ranger lay!" Written December 20th, 2001 © on Dec 19 2001 03:53 PM PST, John R. Yaws 10 • 0
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"I stood in that adobe-..."