I once heard a rumor, almost in a hush
in the back of a Masonic library
among the stacks; that's another matter
but the rumor persisted & spread
underground that the notorious
& lascivious lady gunslinger &
stagecoach robber & belly dancer
had been having a secret affair
w/ the forward thinking socialist British
science fiction writer HG Wells;
of course no one could ever prove
or disprove the fact; the way I heard
it was from the horse's mouth
Belle herself confided once that
anyone who knew got buried. her I believe