Ode to Able Burns
January Bain
A young man Able went to war,
Leaving a girlfriend fair;
His ma and pa and brothers swore,
To keep his golden share.
From town to town he left his mark,
Evil doers his prey;
He vowed to aid settlers a start,
But he could never stay.
Far and wide he searched the land,
Missing a part of him;
His heart it needed a golden band,
Never settling on a whim.
Tasked with finding a sibling gone,
To lay his soul to rest;
His prowess with a smoking gun,
All villains could attest.
A worthy trade to avoid the tell,
Though he promised never—
To lie or cheat or raise too much hell,
Far wise to gain the clever.
Abilene gave promise of more,
News caused his hopes to soar;
Their souls he’d leave at heaven’s door,
While the dead graced the floor.
At Dodge he saw a town on edge,
All six-guns a-drawn;
The man of valour proved the wedge,
By right, brains and brawn.
Deadwood rose through gold and myth,
Its citizens would scorn;
All facts he sorted and would sift,
Until the day ‘twas warned.
His brother gone at dawn they swore,
His promise to save him long;
The burden his own to keep he wore,
The land left for a song.
Would Able find his hearth and home,
Hidden by clouds of time;
The answer calling for him to roam,
Guns and legends but a dime.
