by Barbara Eknoian
I am only nine-years-old,
when I feel my heart flutter
watching the tall, blond cowboy
on the screen at the Alvin.
I don't even know his name.
Every night, before I fall asleep,
I daydream about him.
I live out west and work
at the general store,
a stage coach stop.
I sell calico and ribbons
for granny dresses and bonnets.
I am fickle and soon forget
my movie star to fantasize
about Johnny, the boy in 4th grade
that all the girls like.
While watching TV, years later,
the actor looks familiar and I realize
my cowboy crush was Peter Graves.
I recall sweet musings,
when I wore a red pinafore,
my heart, a pitter-patter,
waiting for my handsome cowboy
to amble into the general store,
tip his hat, and say, "Howdy Ma'am."
Barbara Eknoian is the first recipient of the 2002 Jane Buel Bradley Poetry Chapbook Award for her chapbook, Jerkumstances published by Pearl Editions. She is a long time member of Donna Hilbert's Poetry Workshop in Long Beach, CA.
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