The poem Betrayal is my latest offering to Spillwords.
The image for the poem, shown above, renders an atmosphere which depicts the subject matter perfectly. I waited with great anticipation to see what picture the editorial team would produce. I was not disappointed!
Inspiration from The Final Word
The online submission form has several fields, one of which is to describe the work. My explanation exceeded the length of text allowed. So I had to send a much shortened account of the poem’s meaning and background. I have set it out in full below:
The poem is a rhapsodic reverie spun around the final moments in the life of William H. Bonney – aka Billy the Kid – gleaned from the perspective of those who have questioned the accepted historical narrative. Principally, my inspiration came from Bob Bose Bell, editor and founder of True West Magazine. His book, The Life and Times of Billy the Kid: the Final Word, is the topic of discussion. As a great admirer of his wonderful art, I had purchased my own copy. He went on to discuss the work in a YouTube video, How Did Billy the Kid Really Die?
In His Own Words
Bob Bose Bell explains, “I have been researching and studying the life of Billy the Kid for at least four decades,” He says, “This is my third – and final – book on his short and violent life, and I believe it’s finally time to tell the truth about one of the biggest lies in the entire saga.”
In The Final word, Bell contests the “contorted and ridiculous Pat Garrett version” of how the Kid died as “a total lie.” “I don’t believe Billy was walking in his stocking feet across the parade to get some beef,” says Bell. “I don’t believe he possessed a Colt Thunderer.”
The YouTube Comments
The video attracted much commentary which fired my poetic imagination. The most thought provoking came from one Chacote Outdoor Recreation, who has his own YouTube channel. He wrote with an assurance and knowledge suggesting he had some ‘inside’ information beyond the reach of the public domain. He also asserts Billy the Kid was not walking across the parade ground in stockinged feet. Nor was he in Pete Maxwell’s bedroom when the shooting occurred. Chacote’s words are controversial, to say the least. It surprises me there was not more enquiry and interest in what he had to say.
A Terrible and Telling Account
.Chacote’s words form a terrible and telling account. “Paulita claimed in an interview that … she never dated Billy. Oddly, she had a bullet wound scar to the left of her abdomen that some say was the first shot and went through Billy. The remaining four were chest shots as Billy turned” … “and before daybreak a blood-soaked down mattress was burned that came from Paulita’s brother’s bedroom.” … “My last issue is this, suppose this happened in your home? Would you really shop for and buy a mattress the following day? And why would law enforcement run this errand? A man named Thomas McKinney purchased the new mattress and arranged immediate delivery. No one finds this odd, or the blood-soaked quilt in her hope chest thrown away after her death …”
“Poe is the one who dragged Billy off the bed and put the gun in one hand and a knife in the other. Garrett was in shock thinking he may have killed Paulita as well. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out no one gets a shot to their chest and holds on to a pistol and a knife. But that is how that night went, crafting a story … making sure Billy was dressed to hide the bullet wounds, especially the one in his back before he was taken to a carpenter’s shop for a wake …”
The Instrument of Betrayal
The pearl handled pistols became the instrument of betrayal in my poem. The inspiration originates from a cryptic remark made by one of the sheriffs involved in the fateful night of 14th of July 1881. He said many years later, “Never keep pearl handled pistols (by your bedside). They show up too well in moonlight.” Rather significant, I thought, with a slight shudder.
A Deadly Inheritance?
Recently, I stumbled across a YouTube post from the acclaimed historical channel, Chasing Billy. It’s a short vignette from the autobiography of one Charles Francis Colford, detailing his chance encounter with William Bonney.
Before Bonney steps into the literary spotlight, Colford relates his first meeting with Pat Garrett, who was working on the Chisum Ranch at the time. He describes Garrett’s attire, and that: “He wore two pearl handled six shooters with which he could almost play a tune.” As I listened some spine-chilling penny dropped. The idea occurred to me like a cold hand on my shoulder. Could Pat Garrett have given the same pistols as a ‘gift’ to Billy, knowing one day they would lead directly, or indirectly, to his death?
Chacote’s comments, and the alleged confessions in later years from those responsible for Bonney’s death, comprise the framework for the poem. Inspiration? I was floored. I hope through the cathartic experience of creating the poem there may be some kind of closure for William Bonney. May his soul rest in peace.
Far from being a historical retelling, the poem Betrayal is a work couched in mystery .and atmosphere.