Rough Riders

July 10, 2006  (I was 61)

     Rough Riders

They were oh so stoic

and acknowledged no pain

When shot numerous times

instead begged pardon

for causing inconvenience

Or openly walking the front lines

spun dead from a bullet to the mouth

while professing invincibility

confirming a manhood

first won killing bloodthirsty Apaches

deranging criminals as Texas Rangers

ridding the plains of buffalo

quarterbacking Yale

crewing with Columbia

or serving as assistant secretary of the navy

They fought alongside and proudly

with warrior survivors they called native Americans

and blacks who could follow but could not lead

and ore prospectors with no prospects

for any adventure better than this one

now that domestic adventure

had been fenced into reservations

Government banned the vigilante at home

but eagerly employed the mercenary abroad