Little Dark-eyed Junco

photo © 2013 Jennifer Wagner

Welcome to Rubbletown,

and thanks for leaving.

Don’t let the saloon doors

hit ya on the backside on yer way out.

Rope yerself a farmer’s daughter

elsewhere—

cuz the sheriff here does all the ropin’

of the choicest stock.

He gets a cut down at

The Delmonico,

making fodder for Madame Maynard’s

…err, establishment.

That sheriff, he’s a mean cuss.

See them boots?

Silver-tipped and intricate all up the sides?

He dips ‘em in rattlesnake venom.

And he’ll kick ya ‘til yer skin splits

and rots, black as raven’s feathers.

He’s the devil alright.

And the devil deals in hearts.

That’s why I’ve sleeved

a spade.

One day he’s gonna ask

the wrong "purty lil' thang"

to dance.

© 2013 Jennifer Wagner

At dVerse we’re writing cowboy poetry.  The Delmonico was a Hotel and Restaurant and suspicioned to have rooms leased to Madame Henrietta Maynard in Port Townsend, WA in the early 1900’s.  I’ve based my fictionalized poem on accounts found in the “Bars & Bordellos” booklet from the Jefferson County Historical Society (pictured).