like courage written in chalk
fading into loose powder,
players unsheathe our daggers
showing one another we mean business,
limb for limb: could any bluff be more evident?
yet ashamed for these struggles,
our clothes scatter after each battle,
the conquered shedding skins,
this game hijacked out from under our noses.
like courage written in chalk
fading into loose powder,
we hesitate joining other armies
who march on foreign soils, weaponless,
abandoning shotgun towers
only to hobble amongst wasted corpses,
and out there just beyond that skeleton playground,
a fading searchlight glances
as we cower in the red mud,
those obsolete armies noticing our breathing
for we are not worthy trophies:
and we thought we were invisible.
presumed we were fearless.
out here stranded on this frozen battlefield
we fade into loose powder,
left with our unrequited appetites,
courage written in chalk.
7/15/79
Bisbee, AZ