The Cowboy Poem by Phil Kellogg

Strike the flint
Once, twice, three times
the spark catches
The tinder smolders
Smoke starts to rise
White at first then gradually black
The flame catches and becomes larger
The old cowboy's eyes stared
The lonely Rockies at his back
His old grey beard waves in the wind
Memories are his only friend now
Haunting his brain
Thinking
His late wife, his imprisoned son
The bottle of Jack, his only companion
The revolver on this hip, the boots on his feet
The money stolen from the bank
Hiding from the law
Thinking
The whiskey killed his wife
The insanity imprisoned his son
His whole life gone
The marshalls call for him
He hides deeper in the wheat field
They come ever closer
He stands tall in the field
He shoots one down, dead
They shoot back
He's hit, he falls
His last breath he says
'At last my love, we shall be together again.'