Gary Blankenship
Song of Myself #19 - Racer
Song of Myself #20 - Turkey Shoot
Song of Myself # 19 –
Racer
19. The half-breed straps on
his light boots to compete in the race,
on the outside of each soft boot
a yellow rose entwined
with pink dogwood
one for my mother beyond the
Brazo
the other for my father from
Tennessee’s hills
down the inside of the left
beaded lighting strikes the sole
for there’s another race to win
in this grubby backwater
on the far side of the Mo
the village bully sure
he’s faster than me or my boots
I’ve no doubt I’ll win
trouble is they won’t honor the
wager
and I’ll be lucky to escape
shirt, hair or beaded boots
intact
unless Tom’s timely with the
wagon
cutting it too close
in Cairo and Dutchtown
and someday that race
won’t be won
Song of Myself #20 – Turkey Shoot
20a. The western
turkey-shooting draws old and young
The youngest children dart
through the crowd
in an endless game of ‘you’re it,
am not”
The not-quite-old-enough boys
stand behind the shooters
eyes on the rifles unsure of how
to ask
can we touch
can we hold
can we look through the sight?
Wives and daughters prepare the
table amid
speculation of who is best for
Mary
Sally
Jane
who’s a lay-a-back
who’s a bully-boy
who’s too shiftless to support a
family
hold a wife
Around the edges,
grifters and con artists
card sharks
candidates
and drummers wait
to separate the winners
from their winnings
And Dr Perkins sells
his patented medicinal
guaranteed to cure all ills
and improve vision
He does a booming business