Poet Trying On A Western
by Leslie Grollman
Why not the Western,
full of spit ‘n brawl,
as horse-you-rode-in-on,
or the loyal Buckskin by a grave
Why not as Diamondback, all hiss and fit
As Longhorn, all graze and cud
Why not as fiddle, all pluck,
and torrent of foot-stomping
Why not ok, boomer at the O.K. Corral
But not as gunfight
Not the howl-down
muzzling a nation begging for help
Not as whiskey, all numb and
forgetful
I don’t want to forget anything
I want to trot through, saddled,
Sitting tall,
All change-horses-midstream,
Reins in hand,
All giddy-up,
All giddy
Leslie Grollman’s work appears in Writing Utopia 2020, Together: An Anthology, Thimble, Nailed, Pathos, From Arthur’s Seat, Spark, and Write Like You’re Alive (2016, 2018). She is a candidate for an MSc in Creative Writing: Poetry from the University of Edinburgh. She is madly in love with Edinburgh, especially her cobblestones.