This issue is dedicated to Richard Baron (1948-2018)

HEY! COWBOY! (acrostic for Baron Richard)

Borderland bandito   galloping with the speed of light   high
above the cloud trains   I hope it comes as a nice surprise  to see
your household metallic possessions  as they were in the beginning
before you took them into the sun    & revealed their radiance

Abiding   in the saint’s saloon, Señor Copa   its walls covered
with Polaroids of prostitutes sitting on your lap  I hope
you’ll have a few on me   before you brace the sands of Mars
& capture the twelve remaining Hasselblads on the moon

Rambling through  spaceboy   in the saddle   how’s the view
of Times Square from up there   I hope it’s just as good as it was
when you first rode into town   a camera in you holster   ready

to shoot the black & white glory of peep shows & billboards

Objectifying   New York in the 70’s   when snow fell on N. Moore
around the cornerfrom your apartment   Men in Suits    architectural
angles   & Great Americanson TV   now   as you ride the Milky Way
I hope you’re lassoing the stars into patterns   like Still Lives

Nearer by far   The Empire of Texasis a waffle   in Canis Major’s
lone cantina   they sell hardcover copies at the bookstore next door
I hope when you’re not busy photographing the source of creation
you’ll send a copy of Real Fire  to warm me in your absence

Janet Hamill
November 16, 2018