Boothill of Tombstone Arizona
Boothill of Tombstone Arizona
They lie in Boothill, some in quiet slumber,
The good, the bad, the murdered and murderers,
Some say any number may not be in peace,
Nor are they quiet, but restless souls lost in time,
Those who died with their boots on died fast and shocked,
The memory of their last encounter still locked
Within their souls that roam the hill,
Gone are the days they died, yet they roam still.
In 1883 a stage driver named Stanifor
For unknown reasons took his own life,
No one knows If he had a family or wife,
That same year Contreras was murdered,
By whom was not recorded, nor said,
Someone had a reason to see him dead,
In 1881, JD Dernitt fell down a mine shaft
To his death, leaving someone bereft.
The gunfight at the OK Corral
In October 1881, put three in Boothill,
Two McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton,
The Earp brothers and Doc Holiday
Were wounded on that famous day,
‘Cept Wyatt Earp, he did okay,
Billy Claiborne and Ike Clanton ran away.
Billy Claiborne left Tombstone soon
After the fight, and returned in 1882,
Billy was killed that year, whence
Frank Leslie shot him in self defense,
Frank was ready to shoot again, but stilled
Billy said, Don’t shoot again, I am killed.
Six hours later Billy died, knowing he will
Be carried up and buried in Boothill.
Ol’ Lester for sure ran out of luck,
When a gun was fired and he didn’t duck,
Guess he was not one of the leads,
For his famous tombstone reads:
Here lies Lestor Moore
Four slugs from a 44
No Les
No More
Many more souls were buried in Boothill,
The good, the bad, the murdered and murderers,
Some say any number may not be in peace,
Nor are they quiet, but restless souls lost in time …
~~~~
© 2017 Phyllis Doyle Burns
I have always liked to write.It is important to me that writing comes from my heart and soul. When writing poetry, if I do not feel a spiritual connection to what I am writing on, I will discard it and go on to something I can connect with on a spiritual level. I live in the moment, I write from the past or beyond the veil. When writing fiction I go with whatever inspires me at the moment - it could be funny, sorrowful, romantic or sometimes done with the use of colloquial language from mountain folk or other cultural regions.
I began writing content online in 2007, starting with BellaOnline - A Voice For Women, where I was the Native American Editor, Folklore & Mythology Editor, and the Appalachian Editor. I also wrote articles forThe Examiner, Daily Two Cents, and Yahoo. I am currently an author on HubPages.
Most of what I write takes a lot of research and I love it. Even if it is a fictional story, I will research for accuracy in whatever it takes to make my characters, their era, their location, etc. become realistic to the reader.
I hope you enjoy my works. Thank you for visiting.
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Okay, I simply just love this…
Awesome! Thanks Kurt. So glad you love it.
A great piece of history and those famous or infamous all buried in a familiar place, where souls roam, their business unfinished. Lovely work Phyllis.
Thank you, Tony. Glad you enjoyed the poem. That cemetery sure draws a lot of people to the area. I love the old west history. Take care dear friend.
Awesome piece Phyllis, I love the Lester Moore tombstone writing. The OK Corral gunfight is a classic. Thoroughly enjoyed by this reader Phyllis. ~Paul
Thanks Paul. I am glad you you enjoyed it so much. It was fun writing it.