Harsh Lovers

By John I. Blair

At the start
The simple slogan
“Ran away to Texas”
Was tacked to many bankrupt farms,
And bankrupt lives back east.

There men had hoped
That out beyond the dark Sabine,
Beyond the Red, the wild unfettered land
Had heart enough to love them,
To embrace them without question.

But when the men returned the love,
Too often they were harsh lovers
(As they had been before)
Scarring and defiling
The one who took them in.

Those who made this liaison are dead.
Their heirs, the shadowed generations,
Still make no restitution,
But remain abusive offspring
Of such illicit coupling.

©2004 John I. Blair