deepundergroundpoetry.com
Buckaroo Bones
The old man stood
reflexes curling toes
sand meeting driftwood stare
oceans draining away years
On a brighter beach
he'd danced all night
sizzling pitchy-patchy
to a furnace of steel bands
He'd felt the nip
of crab claw love
shuddering raw thunder
limbo jerking under booming surf
with everything rocking,
man
Back then
the price of a smile
was all you needed
surrendering easy
for lithe brown bodies
happy to cast a spell
with nothing much to fear
only the word,
No
Now it was different
the billfold of memories
fluttered empty
cold dreams dealt wishes
sprinkled on stars
while he danced by the waves
alone
They seemed to whisper:
Buckaroo bones
Buckaroo bones
it's almost time
almost time to come home
Buckaroo bones
Buckaroo bones
Why do you dance alone...?
And in the distance
a last horizon loomed
like a sign from the great unknown
the heady skim of a pebble's skip
sinking silent
to greet the final tug on his soul
Published 13th Jul 2010
| Edited 30th Sep 2014
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Anonymous
13th Jul 2010 7:57pm
The term "buckaroo bones" made me smile, for some reason. There was something merrily sinister about it which I liked. As a whole, the poem reminds me of Sylvia Plath's Suicide Off Egg Rock, what with the image of a man standing at the water's edge, thinking his bleak thoughts.
14th Jul 2010 1:02am
14th Jul 2010 3:18pm
15th Jul 2010 9:49am
Well I have liked the past reflections of the old man and which have been decomposed by rum and age. The flashback is realistic and the disturbance is quite appreciable.
