Billy by Bob Atkinson

Billy

(c)2011 Bob Atkinson

Billy had you scratching head

you'd not know what to make

of his mild and witty manner

which changed in a quick eye blink

Billy was full of wonderment

about those exciting things

is Earp really a fast draw?

or

can a dozen Apaches catch him?

many of us settle in

to a confined behavioral space

he was never boxed into

activity which him constrained

always looking for the way

pieces of a puzzle fit

caused him grief sometimes

which he saw as excitement

in those days of violent ways

in the heart of never lands

where those of different cultures

formed their cultured bands

care was given to protect

what man had carved out from

those hills and mountains so beautiful

in the land of much hot sun

others saw what had been gathered

as spoils of a strange war

between those

that had worked so hard for wealth

and those who wanted more

much was there to take in spoils

if one could run away fast

always some who saw a rope

and a tree as frontier justice

some would dance the dance of days

that had come and gone

some would dance the dance of lust

as new opportunities for thievery dawned

some would try to live within

the rules others far away made

some would push boundaries (like Billy did)

putting them into early graves