By Ali
Date: 9 March 2001
The Cowboy(His View)
In his veins, it flowed
Burning hot beneath his skin
In his eyes, the fire glowed
The yearning weaved it's spell
He was seemingly settled
Thought he'd hung up his hat, for good
But, then he was hit by the wanderlust
And everything changed
He couldn't stay there, in that house
The very walls were closing in
He couldn't stay...
His hat, he needed his hat
So, he searched 'till he found it
Dusty and stiff, from it's place in his trunk
He carefully wiped it clean
He placed it on his head
And it was perfectly molded to his skull
As his boots were perfectly molded, to his feet
Those well-worn, scuffed and comfortable boots
His feet belonged in them...
And then he sensed her sudden presence
Come silently into the room
Carefully, he looked at her
With a curious stare
What would she say?
What would she do?
He didn't know
But, nothing she could say, or do
Could have stopped him, then
He had made up his mind
In her eyes, he found that she knew
He saw that she realized what he was about to do
So, he placed his belongings in his bag
Mechanincally, precisely
And then, he did not, could not look at her
But, he saw, out of the corner of his eye
That she left the room, then
And he didn't even think to stop her
Didn't bother to
He grabbed his bag, heavy with his things
But, he didn't mind the weight
And he walked surely, out of the room
Then down the darkened, dim hall
Finally, out the front door
He saw her, standing on the porch
Her back to him, staring off, faraway
He didn't move, from where he stood
But, waited for her to turn and speak
Finally, she did
Her eyes were slightly red and misty, he noticed
But, he couldn't look at her
So, he stared at his feet
Absent-mindedly thinking of the designs on his boots
Then she spoke to him
"You're leaving."
All he could do was nod
What could he have said?
What could he have done?
He was going and nothing he could say
Would ever make her feel better
He watched as a tear slid down her cheek
Something inside him ached
For her knew he was hurting her
Still, he didn't speak
But, he did bring his gaze to meet hers
Her eyes were filled with pain
Pain so dark and so great that it cut him, deep
He was causing this pain...
He took a deep breath and swallowed
She looked away, sighing, sadly
She was letting him go, well, she couldn't really stop him
And he knew that she knew that
So, he swaggered down to his truck
Thinking of nothing, his mind suddenly, oddly blank
His thoughts, quiet
He opened the door, placed his bag on the seat
And started the truck
Then he turned to look at her
He smiled as best he could
Smiled for the good times
Smiled for the memories
Smiled at her
And she answered back, his half-smile
He tipped his hat, in a classic goodbye
Then he got in his car
And turned on the radio
"On the Road Again"
Floated out from the speakers
He laughed, softly
And he then drove away
Returning, again, to the road
His one true home
Back to the Heart-on-Sleeve Corner