Buffalo Gals

Buffalo Gals

The buffalo gals came out last night to dance.

Moonlight shone upon the ground as silver poured
and all the children laughed to see the merry play.
A dance (quadrille) with buck and fill, was called
and flute and fiddle sawed the tune and called the beat.

There in the light reflected down I wondered still.

A life intruded harshly in this dying nighttime dream,
care of morning flare bright wonder in my eyes.
No good can come of lingering there now
but snips and snails and puppy's tail still call
and once again I wish for what never was.

Reach out and win the sandman's kin with smiles.

"Bang Bang" he said and then he ate the banana.
The soldier, tired of war converted it to snack.
If only wars called finished by such whimsy
could rest the father's brow when bullets fly.
Our wars, fought over fences were not fatal,
to any but the dogs caught in the way.

The losers drank the kool-aid with their foe.

And Savage Max, returned from the wild rumpus,
finds that his sup, still warm, stands ready there.
And we sail away, for a year and day
and gladness sings a song. Alice's delight
the hedgehog's plight, they run into the hedgerow
where game is called and then we faced the queen.

Our heads, not safe to this very day, bow down to reason king.

Then campfire songs we sang, in rounds and chorus,
there were cat's who came back and ships that sank.
And guitar strumming, with "Don't give a damn!" songs,
Kumbaya My Lord and Mrs. Murphy's Chowder.
Our faces warm - our back cold we swayed and took notice
of how many bottles were left on the wall.

Our voices raw we slept on straw till sunlight called us home.

Now tell me tales of bags of nails and jobs we need to do.
Reach out to win the sandman's kin with pills and morning alarms.
And show your buckskin dresses off to compete with New York styles.
Bright balance sheet, will incomplete our days with meetings boring.
Please take me back, to mattress sack, old Coleman on the ground.
'Cause paymaster's song is feeling wrong, no profit can I find.

Come dance with me sing one - two -three, I do not like this world.

~Stuart Andrew Marshall Tanner~