Frank at the Pecan Cafe`
(on tour in Blanco Texas)
He was standing at the mike
old guitar, long grey hair
bushy side-whiskers
down to his chin
6 foot 4, ten gallon hat
boots, vest, jeans and neck-string.
he was singing a song about a cowboy's life
(about his own granddaddy)
about disappearing rail-road ties
long-horn ranches, Mississipi river
gamblers and cajun queens.
more than a little awestruck
he was the first 'real' cowboy I'd ever seen.
Frank has a drawl
as long and wide as the Texas skyline
in fact he didn't talk
he stretched and twanged
and played his voice like a slow guitar
his eyes gleamed as he spoke to me
the way he looked
I felt like chicken dripping with honey.
it was organized I was stay the night
at his ranch in the hills 'The Triple Goddess'
he said
'I'm a gonna take you
a long ways down the road
'bout two miles or so
then, we're gonna take
a little turn to the left
where the road
gets mighty narrow
(a rocky little trail)
you'll drive with me
in my pick-up truck'.
I was shivering in my shoes
could see the newspaper headlines
'Australian poet disappears
in the Wimberly Hills of Austin Texas
seach parties fail to find any trace...'
I hadn't heard then
of his partner Jane
it was so late
and I was so pleased
so very pleased
to meet Frank's lady.
Pamela Sidney 1994 (approx)
Frank & Jane
Frank read to Jane out loud a long story
the complete book “The Mists of Avalon”
it took him 2 years to read
such is the love and respect
he holds for her
their eyes share deep love into each other
they are very much in love
they live in a small homestead
called “The Triple Goddess”
built on the side of a rocky hill
just outside Blanco
I was their guest for just one night
and will never forget their hospitality
a steaming bowl of black-eyed pea soup
old southern recipe
a large mug of sleepy-time tea
peppermint and Chamomile
organic herbs from their garden patch
we talked into the night
but there were not enough hours
new friends old travellers
we learn we've been reading the same books
the ancient wisdom
of the Earth Mother Goddess
the talk went on
not enough time for all there was to say
Frank's a country singer
tours the country with his guitar
Jane an adventurer
backpacked across
sailed the Pacific in a yacht
a photographer
she showed me her high colour photos
taken at a pow-wow
exquisitely costumed dancing
her photos hang
on display in
night sets in deep and hard
sadly it's time to sleep
although desperately tired
I slept not a wink that night
the magic of the people the place
had overtaken me
in the distance thunder rumbled
sheet-lightening whitened the cave-black sky
not enough time for all there was to say
next day the enchanted rock awaited
later a television appearance and poetry
but I will never forget
my very first meeting with Frank
and later, his lady Jane
Pamela Sidney 1994
