A Dead Man's Hand Poem by Harry Bryant

James Butler Hickok is a very talented man,
and he makes his living anyway he can,
born in Illinois, in eighteen thirty one,
he had many titles, most earned with a gun,
he was a hearty drinker, a gambling man was he,
and a fierce gunfighter, as many men would see,
where he got the name WILD BILL, no one really knows,
but he is called that everywhere he goes,
he was a WAGON MASTER and a GUIDE along the trails,
he SCOUTED for the union army, till the rebels turned their tails,
he had his first fast draw gunfight in eighteen sixty five,
and he was mighty lucky, to come out of it alive,
then he turned to professional gambling,
for the living that he made,
gambling any place or time always on parade,
he was elected SHERIFF of Hayes City, Kansas in eighteen sixty eight,
and while he was sheriff, many men did meet their fate,
he toured with Buffalo Bill, in his wild west show,
he did that for a couple of years, until he had to go,
he went to Deadwood, in Dakota, where he met Calamity Jane,
and she fell in love with him, she made it very plain,
sitting in a poker game, in a poker hall,
someone snuck up behind him, a man named Jack McCall,
he pulled out a pistol and unleashed some lead,
Wild Bill, slumped in his chair from the gunshot to his head,
he was just forty five when he met his fate,
his hand fell on the table, it held aces and eights,
to be forever after, called 'A DEAD MAN'S HAND'
there is no doubt that Wild Bill, was full of grit and sand.

written by Harry Bryant
8/20/04 4: 30: 11 PM �
all rights reserved