The Girl Who Arrived Too Late (Children's Poem).

From my children’s book “Life As a Bean.”

They called her Diamond Lil of the North
The “Belle of the Ball” they said
She must’ve stood ‘bout six foot two
With diamonds stuck to her head

Well, Diamond Lil was okay, I guess
Everyone thought she was great
But there was another Lil of the North
Who arrived here much too late

She missed the Gold Rush of ‘89
She missed the famous saloons
From what I’ve been told, this particular Lil
Spent most of her life in her room

She had this book she read each night
‘Bout Diamond Lil and her gang
She read ‘bout dance halls and barroom fights
And a dog they called The White Fang

She read ‘bout seein’ the Northern Lights
Cracklin’ and shimmerin’ away
And swore each night as she drifted off
“I’ll be going up there some day”

Well, that day came, but came too late
There was hardly a town there at all
Just a salon with worn-out floors
And Diamond Lil up on the wall

“Afraid she’s dead,” the bartender said
“She died a long time ago
All that’s left is this worn-out salon
An’ I sure can’t afford me a show”

So Lil got up and stood on the bar
And started dancin’ away
And didn’t fellers begin showin’ up
From as far north as Eagle Plain

She danced and danced like Diamond Lil
Kickin’ her legs up high
Just like she read in her book of the North
With cracklin’ lights in the sky

Well, it wasn’t long till the bar filled up
The piano started to play
Lil shouted “Boys, I kept my word
I said I’d come up here some day”

There was plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ that night
Maybe a scuffle or two
Nothing like what this Lil had read
In the story of Dan McGrew

The music kept playin’ and Lil kept dancin’
Fellers were up on their feet
“You sure dance fine,” the fellers all yelled
While toppling off of their seats

When it finally got dark the sky lit up
Shimmering yellow and green
Just like the books Lil had read
And better than pictures she’d seen

Then through the door came this scruffy old guy
Covered in buckskin and earth
Lil jumped down from the bar right away
And grabbed the old guy by his shirt

“I’ve read about you,” she said to the man
“You’re full of anger and rage
Someone stole your sweet honey bun
Pulling her right off the stage

Now I’ll bet you’re gonna sit over there
And play this bar a tune
Before you pull out your trusty ol’ gun
And shoot that Dan McGrew

The ol’ boy practically withered away
He left the bar like a shot
“Fred’s not big on guns,” someone said,
“And I doubt the man’s ever fought”

“Oh, come on, boys,” Lil yelled to the crowd
“Let’s bust this whole place up
That’s what Diamond Lil would’ve done
Let’s do us some dangerous stuff”

She pulled out a pistol from under her shirt
And shot a hole in the roof
Then shot out a light and a windowpane
And the picture of Dan McGrew

When the smoke finally cleared and we got off the floor
The bartender’s face was red
“Enough,” he said, coming ‘round the bar
Hopin’ no miner was dead

“Listen,” he said, “you’ve had your fun
Now put that gun away
I know you think we’re a wild ol’ bunch
But there’s something I just gotta say

You’ve read all kinds of fancy books
I guess I’ve read them, too
Most of those stories was all made up
Especially Dan McGrew

That man you just scared off a minute ago
And I’ll tell you what made him run
He ain’t had a woman since ‘59
But she sure weren’t no honey bun

Now, you shot out my window and shot up my roof
And one thing those books got right
Nothin’ chills a body so bad
As the cold we get here at night

Now I know you think you’re a wildcat
And you sure ain’t lackin’ in looks
But hell-raisin’s no kind of life up here
I’d suggest you stick to your books”

Lil looked at the man aghast
“You mean, there’s no Dan McGrew?”
“What about Diamond Lil?” she added
“You can’t say she’s made up, too”

The bartender got Lil’s picture down
And put it there on the table
And said, “Diamond Lil was real, alright
Just not what you’d call real stable

She shot up the bar, just like you
An’ her dancin’ sure was a treat
But she drank herself to death right here
Before she was thirty-three

If I were you, I’d go back home
And find a solid young man
Livin’ up here ain’t much of a life
You should get out while you still can

So Lil went home and sat alone
Readin’ those books in her room
But we heard she’s big on romances now
So, I guess she’ll be marryin’ soon.

Copyright by Robert Bruce Cormack

Robert Cormack is a novelist, children’s book author and blogger. His first novel “You Can Lead a Horse to Water (But You Can’t Make It Scuba Dive)” is available online and at most major bookstores. Check out Yucca Publishing or Skyhorse Press for more details.