By Ali
Date: 9 March 2001

The Cowboy(Her View)

A sudden, sickening feeling spread through her body
Today was the day, the day she had been dreading
She knew, even before he did, that he was growing restless
And today, she knew, was the day he would leave
Even though she had seen it coming, it still shocked her
It still pained her...
Walking into the room, she saw him standing there
This beauty of a man, her lover
In his cowboy boots, and his faded old jeans
Hat on his head, covering his dark hair
This was the time, the very moment she had feared
And she leaned upon the door frame, for support
For, quite frankly, she was afraid that her knees would give out
And she would fall, hard, to the ground
She stared at him, hoping that he'd say something
Anything...
But, he didn't say one single word
She watched as he finished packing his things
This was too much for her, she simply couldn't bear it
So, she left the room, as quietly as she had entered it
She walked down the dark hall, and out the front door
She gazed at the horizen, her heart feeling heavy, as lead
Her eyes, involuntarily shedding tears
She felt an ache, deep within her now shadowed soul
And that sick feeling, just grew worse and worse...
She heard him come out, onto the porch, but didn't face him right away
But when she did, he would not look at her
She couldn't believe he was staring at his boots
In her mind she called him a coward, the thoughts of a woman, suffering
"You're leaving," she heard herself say
And all he did was nod, just nod
Didn't even give her the courtesey of a spoken answer
But, she didn't really except one, no, not from him
He was the strong silent type, who never had very much to say
And even though she fought against it, she could not stop one tear from falling
At that, she saw his gaze shift to meet hers
In his eyes she saw such longing, such desparate longing
And the longing was not for her, but for that line of pavement
For that long and sometimes winding, road
From deep within, she sighed, a sigh of surrender
She had to let him go peacefully
He wouldn't stay, even if she begged, and she knew that
So, she wouldn't waste her breath...
And she gazed at him, as he walked to his truck
A trillion thoughts filled her pounding head
He was leaving!
He was going!
The man she loved was leaving...
She felt more helpless than she could have ever imagined possible
As he put his bag in his truck, she felt her heart being ripped from her body
As he turned on the engine, she felt her heart being stepped on
Then he turned and smiled, and she could do nothing, but smile back
Or half-smile, because it was all she could manage
Then he tipped his hat, in goodbye, and got in his truck
And as he drove away, she felt her heart turn to ashes
As if someone had lit a match, and burned it's fragmented peices
And she watched his tail-lights fade into the dark
It was then that she finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably

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