The Duel

The Duel
by Matt Byrum


I don't know where you get off
With that little smirk on your face,
But oh we will know just who is right.
Once the battle is lost and won.

First we prepare ourselves,
We square off with our eyes.
Our pupils turning ourselves in the street
For the better advantage and I know I've seen myself on the higher ground.

We each turn our heads,
Looking at different points all around the room.
The turn and then of course comes the silence:
The long silence of ten seconds.

That ten seconds seems like an eternity.
A head searing, ball numbing eternity,
But that second part shouldn’t worry you. Haha.
No that was wrong of me, sorry.

The ten seconds,
One second for each pace.
The eternity lasted only the first five,
Preparing and nearly ready but that last five f***s the whole process up.

The 6 7 8 9 is what does it.
1 2 3 4 5 is what tells you,
"You can do this! You know you're right!"
Those last four plant the doubts.

"What if I do lose this," those four say,
"So much rides on this one and you know exactly what happens should you lose."
And then the 10
And then the 10

The church bell rings and the second turn.
It could be anything.
A dog barking, the kettle whistling, the neighbor's restored ‘74 Chevy Malibu backfiring,
It doesn't matter what it is so long as it brings our attention back to each other.

"sooo" You start to say,
Your hand grazes the butt of your gun.
"how was your day honey"
And I feel the oil of my holster on my steel

"fine baby, just fine" I say,
I reach up to tilt my hat so I can see.
I smile and try to disarm the tension,
And all the while doors and shutters close.

I'm ready, I feel confident,
I'm gonna come out of this swinging,
And in the end I will have my way.
The west is the best baby.

In the past few months I've had to give up a lot,
Had to sell my car and get the van,
Many poker games have been forced to die.
There is no way I can live this last one down.

"hey babe, when your parents come down next week
what hotel will they be staying at?"
"i told you," you say "they'll be staying with us.
remember?"

DRAW
Let the bullets fly
Crazy ricochets of metal
Or burying themselves in wood

"are you sure we have the room?
it wouldn't hurt to put them up for the evening
in a hotel in town.
(far, far from here)”

Find cover,
Reload.
You haven’t moved,
You may as well be a tank.

“i don’t really think we need to,
they take our room and we use your office.
you haven’t been writing in a while so
it will give you a reason to clean up in there.”

Seriously low blow.
I will come out of this!
If I lose this one then f**k all!
F**k, outta bullets.

“well hon,
the futon in my office is pretty small.
i doubt we’ll be able to
fit in there. too snug.”

I say it with all the
Innuendo I can manage.
It is better you give in,
I want to win.

“well they can take our room,
i’ll use the office,
and you sleep on the couch.”
You smile as you put the bullet in my head.

I slink away.
You may have won, but I will be back.
Next time, I won’t be so generous.
Not a loss, a retreat.

Matt Byrun, Copyright 2011

Reviews

[Adalia]

i really like this.
haven't ever read anything like it before. it's intriguing. :]