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Nacori Cantina
“BLOOD MERIDIAN seems to me to be the major
esthetic achievement of any living American writer.”
--Harold Bloom
Looking left,
the Judge’s pistol fired.
rolling clear--
got to his feet,
paying their respects,
the dead man fell;
Smith had drawn his Bowie,
the knife protruding,
dark arterial blood spray--
jabbing with their knives,
holding the wounds shut,
sound of gunfire--
stepping over several corpses,
huge pistols roared,
20 Mexicans shot to pieces;
bullet splinters blossoming out of the wood,
mud walls pocked with fresh holes,
blood splatter drenched stucco.
The Judge was like a cat,
sidestepping
he picked the man up;
screaming,
blood flowing from his ears,
the man did not get up.
Door frame filled
with smoke, jammed with
the dead and dying.
Suddenly,
a great ringing silence,
his back to the wall;
Figures stood frozen,
gunsmoke drifting through
like fog.
Glenn Buttkus
Blackout Poetics--Page 179
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB
14 comments:
Such great descriptions, Glenn. Lately the husband and I have gotten caught up in the old westerns and reading this was much like watching it unfold, not in black and white, but in color. Much enjoyed.
Such a thrilling action packed post Glenn ~ So much gore with the pistols roaring those 20 Mexicans to pieces ~
Wow Glenn! A truly bloody western. Well crafted.
This is so gritty great - the pain blood and dirt from something already distilled. Love the choices you made
Cinematic erasure is an art form all on its own, Glenn! Packed with cowboy action, it's more Sam Peckinpah that John Ford! I love the final still.
Wow! Whether it's your western posted on open Thursdays or this "distilled" version....they are anything but distilled as in distilled water, taking out all the "meat" of the thing. This is action packed and the imagery is superb. Love the final scene in the end. Well done!
I wonder if the Judge made it out of that with his back to the wall at the end. He probably did.
A complete story in its own right. Very engaging.
This is my favorite section:
"bullet splinters blossoming out of the wood,
mud walls pocked with fresh holes,
blood splatter drenched stucco.
The Judge was like a cat,
sidestepping
he picked the man up;
screaming"
I spent hours one summer reading the books of Zane Grey, loaned to me by an older boy cousin. I loved them! This made me think of that summer. Thank you!
Quite vivid Glenn. I can smell the smoke. Love westerns :)
A gory tale indeed! I loved the end
Gritty and intense stuff!
Very intense. I can feel the gunfight as if I was hiding scared in the shadows.
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