Ramrod's Bible

she set
out one spring,
1886, trail boss and
big suspenders, took
head in the sticks with
the lady cook Chuck, followed
what they said she couldn't say "f***,"
the Pony Express mail route, rough and
dangerous with outlaw dust,

fifteen men
not enthused
about listening up,
set in their saddles,
Isaac Funk smart-assed
thinking he's Jesse Chisholm,
ramrod moves him riding last, she's
not amused, throws his bedroll in the drink,
wet, sobers him up, ties him to the wagon until he
reads the ramrod's bible, hers, they're not moving,
campfire grows dim, stars twinkle at him, Isaac Funk
reads scripture long into the night,

ramrod trail boss,
she drank white mule,
pistol, lariat and spurs her
devotion to duty, shoots a sidewinder,
Isaac Funk learned the ramrod's rule, bible
settled the conflict, oxen gods left a reminder,
Isaac's bedroll filled with burs.

Copyright Ms. Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist