Cowboys, Heroes and Horses

 

waterfallI paused from cynchin’ my saddle’s riggin’
To feel the crisp wind out of the West
Brush against my exposed hands and face
Sendin’ my soul a shiver clean thru my vest
It’s breath carried memories in vivid colour
From when I weren’t but a child half grown
Great stories n’ tales that shaped my being
Of cowboys, heroes and horses that I’ve known
My spur’s jingle bobs rang in eerie chime
As I threw my reins over the saddle horn
Leading me to remember my Grandpa’s voice
With his tales of buckaroos before I was born
And his great Clydes that worked in harmony
That I knew as if they were my own
I realize now just how my life was sculpted by
Cowboys, heroes and horses that I’ve known
My chap’s leather creaked against the fender
As I placed my boot in the stirrup’s grip
The same sound heard by countless cowboys
When they mounted for their sunrise cow trip
History left us names like Alberta’s John Weir
But kept silent the names of those who rode alone
The working cowboys, Vaqueros & Gauchos that haunt me
In Cowboys, heroes and horses that I’ve known
My gelding lurched forward with a spur to lope
With those men of dust and leather at my horse’s side
The cowboys of character that came before me
Greats like Bud Macague and those others who ride
With me through smooth, rough or winding trails
Those who’s fanned a bronc, started a colt or bin thrown
That built the cowboy I am and gave me the life I lead
Of cowboys, heroes and horses that I’ve known
Today more than ever we need those…
Cowboys, heroes and horses that we’ve known

 

Poetry edited by Mike Puhallo
Diamond Doug Keith is a popular artist and cowboy poet from Southern Manitoba.