MEN IN BRIMMED HATS

by John Tustin

There are men in brimmed hats with heads bowed.

In the distance they are nothing but shadows cast

And silhouettes—

Riding their solemn horses slower than a trot

Toward the aching yellow towns with the sun behind them all the way.

There are men in brimmed hats

Standing before the swinging saloon doors

With cigarettes dangling unlit from pursed lips

And the rain pours down like a Hollywood rain upon them

In buckets and buckets,

Spilling in tilted oceans from the hat brims

As they just stand outside before the swinging saloon doors

In the yellow towns where every other cloud brings rain.

There are horseback men in brimmed hats—

Tipping them with great broad thumb and forefinger

Before scratching their stubbly chins and moving the cheroot

From one side of the mouth to the other

Then squinting a voiceless goodbye to one yellow town

On their way to another

With the sun always behind them.

There are men in brimmed hats

And I am not one of those men:

I am another kind.

John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.

It's well known that an artist becomes more popular by dying, so our pal Steve Cartwright is typing his bio with one hand while pummeling his head with a frozen mackerel with the other. Stop, Steve! Death by mackerel is no way to go! He (Steve, not the mackerel) has a collection of spooky toons, Suddenly Halloween!, available at Amazon.com.    He's done art for several magazines, newspapers, websites, commercial and governmental clients, books, and scribbling - but mostly drooling - on tavern napkins. He also creates art pro bono for several animal rescue groups. He was awarded the 2004 James Award for his cover art for Champagne Shivers. He recently illustrated the Cimarron Review, Stories for Children, and Still Crazy magazine covers. Take a gander ( or a goose ) at his online gallery: www.angelfire.com/sc2/cartoonsbycartwright . And please hurry with your response - that mackerel's killin' your pal, Steve Cartwright.