Tuesday, December 26, 2017

101 Books, Number 81

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life



81. The Iron Mistress, 1951, by Paul I. Wellman (1895–1966)

In boyhood …

I loved books on the Alamo—
I blame it on that Disney show,
That Davy Crockett stuff, you know?

I liked Jim Bowie’s story best—
That awesome knife*—and all the rest.
But Alamo? He failed that test.

This Wellman book I liked a lot—
Some scenes were really steamy … hot.**
A life like mine! (Ha! Ha! Oh, not!)

Well, later on, I learned much more.
About my boyhood gods. His score
Just sank. He traded slaves .. what for?

For money, oh, most certainly.
Who cares if someone else is free?
And so he slipped away from me

Back into mists of history.

*later on I bought one; I still have it in my sock drawer, just in case a home invader tries to steal my SmartWool!
**I read it in high school.

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