after taylor swift’s “cowboy like me”
we duet picture — i’m sheryl crow she’s kid rock
she showed me how to change my ways
my mom took the kids for the night
she tells them bedtime stories about their futures
my pink-white-orange beads dangle as i dance
dim arena light
she places her cowboy hat atop my head
we slow dance to dene love song
bannock bum swaying along
long-brown hair peppered with gray
indigiqueer cowboy
taking smoke breaks in the cooled-summer-night
the sky sings down to us
buffalo roll around in the grassy field nearby
while she pulls me against her
by the loops of my jeans
two-stepping all night long
with cowboys like us
embering the dusk
of a small town, sparkling
laughing at the idea of leaving
we don’t need the city light to love each other
Leah Baptiste
Leah Baptiste (she/they) is a queer, Sahtú Dene poet, and member of Deline First Nation (Treaty 11). They are pursuing their BA., in Sociology with a double minor in Creative Writing, and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Alberta (Treaty 6). They enjoy drinking lots of tea, collecting mugs, and spending time with their two cats.