To Bud and Terence: A Dedication

No wonder they called him the Hippopotamus

And the other one was Nobody

But when they met, all hell broke loose

And a lonely child forgot his tears, for a while…..

Bullets flew like magic

A few skulls were cracked

(Not to mention, a few castrations happened as well)

And blood never seemed so pretty before!

Desert storms became fun

And a hundred wild slingers

shooting in all directions

were just a hundred wild slingers shooting in all directions….

For Cat,

with his gun

and Hutch,

with his fist

Would never betray the child….

God forgave, they didn’t!

And when the music was over

Trinity rode with Bambino,

Salud with Plata,

and Blackie with Skull –

Each in their own million lost directions….

Whenever you see a haunted hamlet

And hear the soft rattling of some broken saloon door

Think of them,

For they're riding still!

And the moon shines down those rugged caves,

the dream-thirsty rattlesnakes slither

along those cracks of the dead west,

The wind keeps on howling through the weary oaks

older than time whispering forgotten songs

And the stars keep on watching in steely silence

as two forlorn shadows ride across the desert…

They know it

The child knows it too

That some flames never die!