The Old Westerns
No more heroes on horses named Trigger
No more rugged, chapped, white hatted figures
The bad guys today do not always wear masks
At least not the exact kind they did in the past.
Though crime existed in those olden days
In the end, the wicked were locked away
Paladins were not treated with such disdain
Nor with such peoples’ champion smear campaigns.
Robbers rode over steel rails to make swipes
Hijackers now fly steel birds and take lives
Highwaymen robbed folks along dry dusty trails
Ponzi takes fortunes through electronic mail.
Robber barons dishonestly stole wealth
Computer hackers do the same through stealth
Telegraphs allowed graft across the flat land
Now accomplished today with mobile broadband.
Desert gangs of thieves hid gold in dark caves
Turbaned hordes cross hot deserts to enslave
Guns were drawn behind bat wing doors of saloons
Guns drawn inside hallways of our children’s schools.
Are we safer today? Sheltered from crime?
Truly living in a more civil time?
So, make fun of Roy and the Lone Ranger, too
But heroes are fewer and that’s much to rue.
The Heart’s Camera
That second of time caught in an eyepiece
As the camera’s shutter loudly snapped.
The capturing of blissful calm and ease
On young faces of those photographed.
This image will stand as a testament
To the history of good friends well met,
To whom, to what, and to how it was then,
Photostat narrative of this quartet.
Their stout hearts worn on their sleeves that noon,
Sleeves now faded with the passing of time.
And so this photo keeps fading too,
As each one arrives at the finish line.
Linda Imbler is the author of the published poetry collection “Big Questions, Little Sleep.” Her work has appeared in numerous journals. Linda’s creative process and a current, complete listing of sites which have or will publish her work can be found atlindaspoetryblog.blogspot.com. She is a classical guitar player living in Wichita, Kansas
