
“Old Tin Cup” by Kevin Rogers
homely vessel
this antique tin cup
battered dented
black bottomed
from too many
campfires burning
on too many trails
rinsed too often
in sulfurous pools
muddied coffee
or watery whiskey
chased choke dust
from leather lipped
mouth-breathing
maw given over
to sighs for that
long ago time
when the ride
was less lonely
when saddlebags
bulged with sweet
purpose and travel
was mounted for
real destinations
not merely to
wander in aimless
perpetual motion
From my book Ephemera