Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Fan Fiction & Poetry
One shots and other writings by THE WINGS
THE WINGS:
Summer Moons
They were two
Under a moon of silver-blue
Lovers who would dare
To find true peace, and share
A love they can't deny
Under the summer moon so high
Twenty years, all through
Many summers with moons of silver-blue
Ennis and Jack, try they would
To keep a love, though misunderstood
Alive and burning with desire
Stoked like an eternal campfire
The years, they became full of pain
And the moons of summer began to wane
Now the two lovers had to face
A truth that only in this place
Could their love exist and be true
Under the summer moons of silver-blue.
THE WINGS
THE WINGS:
Jack rode up to the pasture, still mumbling under his breath about Aquirre's "sleep with sheep, no fire" edict.
"That son of a bitch is worse than last year" he grumbled to himself.
After settling in for the long, cool night ahead, Jack sat beside the pup tent, looking over his thousand or so charges and reflected on how THIS year had started out different. This new partner, somehow was different. "I don't rightly know why, but for some reason, I really like that Ennis Del Mar. A bit quiet though. I'll bet a few drinks of whiskey outta loosen his tongue a bit. If we're gonna be workin' together all summer, I guess we should start to get to know one another a lot better", Jack reasoned.
The night breeze was starting to pick up as the full moon began to rise, and the whole mountainside became bathed in its silvery-white light. The light, refecting off the flock almost gave the scene a winter look about it. All was quiet, save for the breeze and the sound of the sheep, and every once in a while, one of the blue heelers would growl tentatively, always on guard, lest a coyote was venturing too near.
Jack could smell the unmistakable odour of mountain sage, and as he lit up the first of what was to be many smokes that night, he turned his head in the direction of their camp, and saw Ennis's campfire, glowing in the distance like some welcoming beacon. "Yeah, I gotta get to know that partner a mine. I just know we's gonna be good friends before the summer's over." Jack mused, looking intently at the distant fire. He couldn't help but keep thinking about the man who was tending their camp, and wondered, with youthful optimisim, just what kind of summer this year's was going to turn out to be....
THE WINGS:
Ennis began the routine chores of being a camp tender, and cleaned-up the immediate area, cleaning the spoons and other untensils used during he and Jack's first supper of beans and biscuits on the mountain. "That Jack Twist sure seems a friendly son of a bitch", Ennis said quietly to himself. Ennis was glad to be working with an "experienced" sheep herder, and was secretly hoping there wouldn't be a repeat of last summer's deadly lightning storm with it's disgusting results. Just the thought of the smell, as Jack had described it back in the bar in Signal, made him feel sick to his stomach.
As Ennis finished the post-supper chores, he sat back and filled his cup with the last of the coffee in the pot, and kicked some more wood onto the fire, to ward-off the now noticeably encroaching cool night air, he wondered if Jack would be able to see the fire from way up there. Although Ennis couldn't see Jack, he could make out the flock, as the moonlight reflected off their wool coats. "Poor bastard up there all alone. Bet he's gonna be cold 'n' hungry by mornin' ", Ennis thought.
Ennis now lit up one of the smokes he had borrowed from Jack, and thought about what the summer would bring, and for some unknown reason, felt that sharing it with a person like Jack, was going to make the time pass by a lot smoother.
Ennis knew then, that he liked this guy, who was different than anyone else he had ever worked with....
THE WINGS:
As Ennis rode back up to the sheep, with the low, grey clouds moving, the sound of distant thunder and the wind picking up, he felt a sense of shock, and shame over what had happened between him and Jack. Yet at the same time, there was a feeling of release and pleasure at having made, for the first time, an intimate connection with another human being. Even so, there was this underlying fear, fear of the unknown, fear of what this all meant, fear of what others would think. The storm that was brewing inside was mirrored by the weather that was now descending on the slopes of Brokeback It was all so confusing. Ennis's guts were in a knot, as he tried to sort things out, and make a decision about what to do next. Should he and Jack talk about this? Or should they just forget about it, and pretend that it never happened? So much to ponder. Just then, as he reached the top of the ridge, Ennis heard one of the blue heelers barking and whining, then, he rode fast to where the sheep were pastured, and with a feeling of sadness, mixed with guilt, he came upon the torn carcass of a dead sheep. "Should've bin up here last night", Ennis thought to himself feeling the shame of someone who had neglected his "duty". "Yeah, me 'n' Jack got to talk about this 'thing' that's goin' on here."
THE WINGS
THE WINGS:
It had been nearly two weeks since Ennis had been to his favourite hang out, the Black and Blue Eagle Bar in Riverton. It had been a busy calving season, and even though he was retired now, Ennis couldn't say no to a neighbour who needed a hand.
This was the one place, that Ennis felt at least somewhat comfortable. He was welcomed as one of the locals, yet he wouldn't let anyone get "too close", just in case they would "come to know" of his secret life.
It had been exactly14 years to the day since Jack's death, and he felt the need to be around the friendly, familiar atmosphere of the bar, and try to forget, at least for a while, the ongoing pain, regret, and loneliness he had endured for so long.
This night, as with any other night, Ennis stationed himself by the back wall of the bar, right next to a group of pool tables. He never played much himself, but enjoyed watching the game, and all the young ranchands who would come in, especially on a Friday evening, to enjoy some pool and just being among good friends, enjoying some good-natured teasing, all "lubricated", of course, by copious amounts of whiskey and beer
At the table directly in front of him was a group of young men, probably no more than 19 or 20 yrs. old. One of them had on a black Resistol, and blue denim shirt, which immediately reminded Ennis of JackTwist, as his mind was transported back to that long-distant summer of '63. The only difference, he noted, was that this guy seemed to "chew", instead of smoking his tobacco.
Ennis was now on his fourth beer, and while he was paying attention to the game, every so often, in his heart, he felt a twinge of pain, as he longed for the companionship of the only person he had ever loved completely. He was thinking, as he had done ever since Jack's death, just what it would have been like to have taken him up on his offer to ranch together.
Not that his life was devoid of all happiness. His daughter, Alma Jr. and her husband, Kurt had made sure that he was never really "alone", even after he had moved back on his own, into another trailer, which was only about a couple of miles from their ranch. He had a 13 yr. old grandson, Kurt Jr., who was almost the spitting image of himself at the same age, and who looked-up to his granddad, and went fishing with him as often as he could.
Still, the sense of loneliness and longing was an ever-present reminder of what could have been. A couple of times, a few tears started to escape from his weary eyes, but he managed to take a deep breath, and focus his attention on the game of pool in front of him.
After another couple of beers, he noticed an older bar patron, whom he guessed was from out of town, although he had seen her around town every once in a while, talking to the rest of the locals, and enjoying the atmosphere. Then, this older, rather pleasant-looking lady, came over to where he was standing, and with a warm smile, and quiet, kind voice, said, "Hello. My name is Annie."....
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