THE OUTLAWS
| It was almost my eighth birthday When we bought our second farm It was closer to a country town And much closer to harm For this township had a town hall They didn't use it much Except for showing movies And flower shows and such These movies hypnotised me I watched all the cowboy stuff They had Westerns every Saturday I couldn't get enough Cowboy stuff can be real tricky But it was all that I yearned for I would crack a whip and throw a rope At everything I saw My mother was quite angry And I'll admit I felt remorse Her clean clothes got all dirty When I lassoed her clothes horse John Wayne was my hero And James Stewart, too I practiced talking like them I was a cowboy through and through My dad bought me a pony And boy! I felt so great! I was the toughest cowboy in these parts And I was only eight Dad had strict rules for that pony It was embarrassing to find This cowboy had to walk to town While his pony stayed behind All the good guys were clean shaven They were always clean and neat Not one of them wore facial hair That resembled 'Big Foot's' feet I meant to be just like those blokes I was daring and so brave Some nights I'd sneak dad's razor And have myself a shave Those razors can be dangerous And although I'd shave real slow Mum always seemed so puzzled Why I had cuts from head to toe Each night I'd fight my pillow I meant to be the best I'd be the toughest, meanest hombre In all Australia's West All the cowboys lived out in the West All those that weren't deceased So, I was filled with disappointment To find that we lived in the East Every cowboy had a sidekick And most of them seemed odd But I picked myself a smart one And his name was Jimmy Dodd We thought that we looked pretty tough We wore our guns with pride A gleaming pair of cap guns Housed in holsters on our side Our quick draw was like lightning It was such a polished skill We knew we'd add some outlaws To that place they call 'Boot Hill'. If we'd been western lawmen We'd treat outlaws so severe That the James gang and the Dalton's Would be shivering with fear The way we swaggered 'round that town Few people would have known That we were only eight years old They'd think us fully grown With cowboy hats upon our head We felt so very brave We searched that town relentlessly For somebody to save There was not a single robbery We were yearning to impress And the women were no use at all There was not one in distress Our town was much too peaceful So our goal was all in vain That town just had no use for Their James Stewart and John Wayne We were determined to be cowboys While we were in our prime So in utter desperation We turned to a life of crime The town folk had ignored us They'd treated us with scorn Soon they'd find that they'd created The toughest outlaws born We'd teach this town a lesson So much fame we would obtain When the folk learned Wayne and Stewart Had robbed the evening train In those days we still had steam trains And I hold the memory still How that old train inched so slowly When climbing Pine Range hill We hid behind some bushes Until the train was chugging past Then we charged toward the engine We'd become outlaws at last We gave some Indian war cries And then a cowboy 'hoot' And we warned that engine driver To stop or else we'd shoot Though the engine driver merely smiled His Fireman spoilt our plot He started throwing lumps of coal He was the first man that we shot He must have been a tough man And I found it quite amazing The bugger was still on his feet Though I had both cap guns blazing Instead of crumpling to the ground He grabbed more coal instead And he threw it with great accuracy It clocked me on the head Jimmy Dodd had fallen over He had given up the fight And I noticed he was bleeding Before I went out like a light We were sore and sorry outlaws As we trudged back into town Jimmy's knee was badly gashed And there was a great lump on my crown But one thing I saw clearly It was plain as plain could be Our career in crime lay elsewhere Robbing trains was not for me But despite the wounds we'd suffered Our hopes were not downcast We knew we could be outlaws We'd just started off too fast Our first robbery had gone badly But that failure we'd ignore Our next job would be easy We'd rob McPherson's corner store We planned this raid so carefully And it wouldn't be too hard Jim would keep McPherson busy While I stole bottles from his yard In those days you got a penny For each bottle you took back And if I pinched a case of empties Our career would be on track While Jimmy kept him busy I scaled his wooden fence And if I'd merely pinched a couple It would have made more sense But, I chose a bunch of bottles Stacked tightly in a crate I'd forgot those crates were heavy And that I was only eight I got that crate about knee high When like a clumsy goose I dropped that crate of bottles And then all hell broke loose McPherson came out cursing He filled me with such fear I couldn't move an inch Until he kicked me up the rear I took off like a rabbit That man was filled with hate He got another kick in Before I scaled his locked back gate This outlaw stuff is dangerous It put a gashed knee on my friend It had put a lump upon my head And bruised my other end We decided we'd be rustlers We'd try a different course But instead of stealing cattle We'd steal the blacksmith's horse The blacksmith's dog was watching But that caused us little fuss We had often stopped to pat him So he knew the both of us The blacksmith owned a Clydesdale A gigantic, friendly bloke And that horse was very clever He knew every word you spoke We told him we were rustlers We'd just steal him for the day He didn't seem too bothered He kept munching on his hay He seemed at peace with all the world Standing quietly in his stall But when he suddenly leaned sideways He squashed me up against the wall He pushed my chest in past my spine I couldn't get my breath I had to bite him on the rump To prevent a painful death Jimmy Dodd was first to mount him Because I was much too small And old Dobbin was so friendly That he didn't mind at all Jimmy Dodd began to show off He felt cocky and aloof He tried to stand up on old Dobbin And cracked his head upon the roof When his head smashed on that rafter It made a squashy sound That knock made Jimmy dizzy And he tumbled to the ground Jimmy Dodd was motionless I thought that he was dead Until Dobbin moved so slightly And put his foot on Jimmy's head Now, Jimmy was a solid boy He was made of iron and steel And I'm sure that is the only time I ever heard him squeal Just then the blacksmith man appeared Not one word did he say He just boxed our ears so soundly Then sent us on our way Although our ears were ringing From the torture they'd been through We clearly heard the blacksmith yell "Get the buggers, Blue!" That Blue Heeler was a killer And his bite was so severe He bit me once upon my leg Then latched on to my rear The blacksmith stood there laughing While my future looked so grim He would not think it so funny If that dog latched on to him Jim Dodd came to my rescue When he heard me scream and wail He broke that damn dog's death grip By biting on its tail My poor rear end was throbbing It had been through very hell Now to match McPherson's boot prints I had teeth marks there as well We went home sad and battered We had suffered so much strife That cowboy stuff is dangerous We preferred a safer life Our mothers were so angry Because I looked nearly dead And Jimmy Dodd could not explain That hoof print on his head Although we still loved westerns We were content as farmer's sons No longer were we outlaws We put away our guns Our life of crime had ended It had taken just one day To convince us evil thoughts are bad And crime just doesn't pay K.D. Abbott © 2009 |
| NOTE: You are invited to make copies of any poem on this site for your personal and private use providing the details of copyright are included. The poems are not to be used for commercial purposes or displayed on any website. |
Back to Top of Page Menu
All poems and short stories on this site are protected and
Copyrighted to K. D Abbott 2009. © All rights reserved.
