gunfight at high noon

we studied

the cowboys on tv.

my brother and I.

taking note

of how 

the gunslingers

stood in the sunlit

street

outside the saloon

and shot at one another.

usually a woman

with lots of make up

was the cause.

we practiced

with our toy guns,

getting faster and faster

at the draw,

the plastic holsters

wrapped around our

dungarees.

mine had a pearl

white handle,

and a barrel that i slid

caps into.

it was a battle to the death

in the brightly lit

room,

as we shot at one another,

until the knock at the door,

and lunch was

on.