Show Me the Place, 53

“Show me the place.”

Duke Senior in As You Like It (2.1)

53: Lincoln County, New Mexico; 1980s

I was deep into my “Billy” phase—

You know, the Kid, the famous one

Who “earned” his fame with flaming gun

Back in those very Wild West days?

So out we drove to see the scene—

Where Billy lived, where Billy died.

We saw his grave—stood by its side.

I wondered: What does all this mean?

I read the books—I wrote a lot—

I photographed—I gave a talk*—

I wrote a play**—I walked the walk.

And, oh, the many things I bought!

But now the “Billy” phase is gone—

Though I still buy new books to read

(Don’t want it all to go to seed),

It seems that I have, well, passed on.

*Western Reserve Academy, 1981
**with and for Harmon Middle School students, 1979 and 1984 (reprise!)

Jail held Billy upstairs in 1881; he escaped.