Luckenbach Moon...

I am all about learning new things and broadening my horizons. I have and do read about anything and everything. Any of you who have had the misfortune of suffering through some of my poetry may wonder, “Now where the hell did that come from?” I often find inspiration for my work in the works of others. You will often see their influences in my pieces.

A writer I think a lot of and hope you come to like as well is John Russell ‘Hondo’ Crouch. A rancher, philosopher and Texan folk hero, Crouch bought the deserted town of Luckenbach, Texas back in the 80’s and turned it into a Texas music Mecca. He was the self-proclaimed Mayor of Luckenbach and coined the phrase, “Everybody is Somebody, in Luckenbach,” as the town motto. He was in turn given the title of Grand Imagineer. Hope you like this poem of Hondo's and its vivid imagery.

THE LUCKENBACH MOON
Hondo Crouch

Nuthin’ much happened in Luckenbach this month,
‘Cept the potato chip man came by.
Then there was the moon.
We try to tell folks who come by here to look at our town
What a big, mean moon we have
But nobody’ll believe it.
And last night it showed off.
The greatest ever.
It just hung there, darin’ you to look at it,
Makin’ silhouettes into things and things came alive.
It even shined plumb to the bottom of the canyon,
Under bluffs and plopped dark doughnuts ’round the bottom of
trees on top of the mountain.
A kind of moon that makes haunted houses uglier
And ugly girls prettier.
And little animals see farther and feel closer together.
Brave weeds even rose up to look ’round for lawn mowers.
Grandpa sat up in bed and said, “What’s that?”
And the hair on Grandma’s legs stood on end, he said.
On moonbrite nites like this, big eyed deer
Tiptoe into larger openings and they can dance better ’cause they can see where the rocks are at.
Their prancin’ gets fancier and freer because they know mans
not there to darnpen the dance.
This kind of moonshine makes you crazy if you sleep in it,
they say
But I think you’re crazy not to try it.
Momma even slept with the baby to protect it and I
Flounced in bed even in a thick rock house.
And when I went outside to see what was the matter
Somethin’ scared cold chills up my back.
Everything was standin’ at attention over new shadows.
Then what was that that moved?
Probably just a Nuthin’.
You know, a big full moon like ours is kinda like a person:
It needs help to show off, and last nite
All the clouds stayed home on purpose
to create a great solo.
We can’t stand an encore!
It takes too much out of you.
Those who saw the moon said they could smell it.
One said it tasted like sin.
The quietness at the parkside road was deafenin’
And the little single couple sittin’ there touched
the backs of their hands together.
"Scare Me !"
We’ve been tellin’ strangers who come to Luckenbach
`Bout our Moon,
But I know they won’t believe that
We have such a big moon
For such a small town.

Linkback: http://www.appalachianwritersforum.com/index.php?topic=99.msg166#msg166