Behind The Badge

The bakery smells flowed into his back room office,
after so many years the fresh baked aroma of bread
just didn’t affect the same any longer.

Perhaps it might have if his heart didn’t have those yearns
to live our west and know that dream
of dance halls and gunfights,
courage and whiskey blended with lethal consequence.

But a leg injury as a kid prevented his being able to ride a horse,
so he settled for taking over the family bakery
and spending his days in that Missouri town
while writing his wild west fantasies
in stories that only he would share with a few friends.

Today he was struggle with his latest adventure
clawing at his mind for names,
out the window there was a cemetery,
tombstone came into his head,
sounded like a good name for a town.

Then he needed a main character,
hmmm, Wyatt popped into his brain,
one of his friends, taking on Earp
after a neighbor whose had it as a last name.

Also needed a companion,
perhaps a doctor,
suddenly reminded he had a vacation coming up,
writer’s thought creating friend, Doc Holiday.

Now for a drama scene,
saw the cousin letter from Oklahoma,
Ok had a ring, just grabbed the word corral out of the blue.
Hours later he had his finished tale.

Walking home he ran into Jessie,
wanted him to come by his house,
can’t say no to the James boys,
outlaws don’t take rejection.

Inside stood Bob Ford,
one blast of the pistol and soon
a missing bakery would be buried
to replace the faked death of Jessie James.

Months later, a man rides into the streets of Tombstone
he looks up that name and smiles,
seeing the Ok Corral is left amazing
how that baker was so incredibly accurate
about things he never had seen.

In his saddlebag is that baker’s writing,
he wanders into bar
will get used to being called Wyatt,
and notices Doc Holiday is sitting at a table,
nods and avoids calling him Frank,
which he learn to avoid,
now that his brother like him
has a new identity.