35
w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
epiphany derm 1/2
In his life Francis had been a poet, writ-
ing lines during occasions that moved him,
helping a tough cowboy connect with his
tender side. He had written a handful, for
instance, when a young woman had bro-
ken his heart. On that occasion, the young
Francis had brooded in verse, "Now all
this world/looks dark to me."
As blood cooled in the darkening snow
around him, maybe he could only make
sense of what was happening to him through
the lens of poetry: all poems end on a note of
regret, melancholy, and, hopefully, some mea-
sure of beauty. And the best ones end with a
bang.
Damn shame about Amanda, though. He hat-
ed to let her down.
