Crow's Feet on a Chiseled Stone

[couchgrouch]

Crow's Feet on a Chiseled StoneA wise old cardsharp sat in a bar near the hills of Mexicowith a whittling knife he carved some dice from rabbit bonefew took him up on a game of stud cos he'd never met defeatand whiskey whispers said two men were dead who'd called him a cheathis craggy face was cut by hard canyon windsand the bright Mexican sun made his squintlook like crow's feet on a chiseled stonewhen his nimble hands cut those cubes of chance they still needed dotsbut just then some kid walked in and slammed four tequila shotspuffed out his chest and said he was the best in the landbrought his own deck...was willing to bet a grand on an honest handbeside him stood the boots of a deathly chillas midnight shadows clung to the rocky hillslike crow's feet on a chiseled stoneafter a losing streak that kid called him a cheat and pulled a thirty-eightbut in two seconds time a box of pine was carved by that cardsharp's bladeshot in the gut that gambler took some blood and put four dots on his diceleft it by the kid to mark four men dead then rode slow to the red sunriseheroes are marked by stones and cowards by daffodilsand somewhere high in the Mexican hillsthere are crow's feet on a chiseled stone(c)2006 Robert George