1:26:01
to a kitchenette rendezvous
with a fried hamburger.
1:26:03
Most recently,
the bag had held love letters.
1:26:08
As a hole in an oak
hides a squirrel's family jewels,
1:26:11
the bag had hidden
love letters
1:26:13
in the bottom
of a bunkhouse trunk.
1:26:15
Then one day after work,
1:26:18
the lanky filly to whom
the letters were addressed,
1:26:20
gathered bag and contents
under her arm,
1:26:24
slipped down to the corral
1:26:26
past ranch hands
pitchin' horseshoes,
1:26:28
and ranch hands
flyin' Tibetan kites,
1:26:30
saddled up and trotted
into the hills.
1:26:35
A mile or so
from the bunkhouse,
1:26:37
she dismounted
and built a small fire.
1:26:39
She fed the fire letters,
one by one,
1:26:43
the way her girlfriend
had once fed her french fries.
1:26:47
As words such as "sweetheart"
and "honey britches"
1:26:50
and "forever" and "always"
burned away,
1:26:53
the cowgirl squirted
a few fat tears.
1:26:56
Her eyes were so misty,
she forgot to burn the bag.