Cowyboy Poetry1

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The Cowboy and The Saddle
Author: James H. Wilson
© Copyright 1996

He sat the half empty tin cup of coffee on the rock
As he used both hands to pull the boot over his sock
He felt the predawn breeze bite the back of his neck
While he watched a sparrow find a worm to peck

For nigh on fifteen years he's made this his home
Herding five thousand head of cattle and being alone
Ain't nothing to do with people, it just ain't his way
The hustle and bustle of the city, ev'ry day

Most want-a-be cowboys, leave his saddle alone
They can only imagine the blisters they're gon'na know
He says a real cowboy's tough as steel
Them kind'a things he don't admit he ever feels

The sound the saddle makes is hard to describe
But it's music to a cowboys ears, out on a ride
The way the horse moves just walkin' along
The cowboy on that saddle, has to start singin' a song

Now this cowboy ain't as pretty as the Marlboro Man
But he can live like a coyote on the desert sand
He's long and lean, and knows ev'ry day's a battle
And knows he wouldn't be him, without his saddle

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Windy
Dedicated to my father, William Wilson
Written By: James H. Wilson
Date: © Copyright, July 16, 1999

He was one ride away, from being the champ
When a mean saddle bronk fell on his leg, an’ took his last chance
He moved away, from the Santa Barbara coast
To his folks desert home, out around Yermo

His wounds had nearly healed when he went lookin’ for gold
Him an’ some others, found ‘Borax’ I’m told
But he couldn’t see himself, runnin’ a mine
So he told the others to split his share of the grind

Not long after, the railroads started to boom
At twenty one, Windy had a job, an’ a new room
Smoke an cinders, belched out of that stack
While the engineer barked "More coal from the rack"

He once told how he could of had great fame
If only he’d agree, to changin’ his name
The ‘Tom Mix’, that everyone knew
Could have been, Ol’ Windy McGrew

Most of us, know of the ‘Great Salt Lake’
That’s one drink of water, nobody takes
But when the railroads built the new line
Ol’ Windy took the first diesel, over that brime

He loved huntin’, bein’ out in the woods
He walked a lot, rode a horse when he could
Like a good cowhand, he rarely missed when he shot
But is was bein’ outside, that really hit the spot

He’d watch the calf ropers, barrel racin’ too
The rodeo clowns, had plenty to do
The bulls came snortin’, an’ lookin’ real mean
But really he shared, the bronk riders dreams

Now he could pick, the winnin’ rodeo hand
Himself bein’, a champion rodeo man
He’d pick the hard ones, comin’ off the truck
An’ he’d yell, "Watch ‘em cowboy, he’s gonna buck"

Some say a storm, always came along
Ev’rytime the young cowboy, came ridin’ back home
So the nickname ‘Windy’, first came from his dad
Real soon the word was out ‘bout the new nickname he had

For those of us, that remember the man
When the wind blows, we know ‘Windy’s’ comin’ again
Though he’s been gone, a little more, than a few years
I still picture ol’ ‘Windy’, when a storm blows `round here

An’ I guess if the Lord, gave him one more chance
Then just about now, Ol’ Windy’s the ‘champ’

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TITLE : Younger Bones
Written By: James H. Wilson
Date: © Copyright, July 10, 2005

Some old cowboy came callin'
Said I rode this way years ago
When I had younger bones
And newer ideas

He'd rode in on a strawberry roan
Lookin' for a vein of gold
He knew he'd never find

He'd rode ev'ry inch of Texas
He'd passed up most of New Mexico
Got stuck in a snow drift just north of Flagstaff
Broke three ribs in an Oklahoma rodeo

He said I listened to the whispers
That settled in the wind
Subtle stories taking friends
That never came back again

Glory came to some he'd known well
Others worked until they fell
He'd rode Shooting Star tell he died

All his young friends had withered
And many had turned to dust
As the days drifted and whisky waned
He took his last breath this dusk

Some old cowboy came callin'
Said I rode this way years ago
When I had younger bones
And newer ideas

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TITLE : William Tell
Written By: James H. Wilson
Date: © Copyright, July 15, 2003

Ev’rybody says he’s a sheep dog
Truth is, nobody knows.
He was just a scrawny pup
Right near a year ago.
When we herd them cows, I don’t know no better,
And he, just does what he’s told

Some said I should ‘a called him Shep
But I couldn’t be so trite.
The little fella was dif’rent,
Why you could see it in his eyes.
Though he’s always chasin’ rabbits
I’ve never seen him bite.

Now I just got a small little spread.
We go check the fences make sure they’re tight.
He’ll keep one eye on the cattle
And one eye on me as we ride on by.
He makes me feel like a best friend should
When I need him he’s right there at my side

There’s a rumor floatin’ ‘round town
‘Bout how he saved me when I fell.
He ran to the neighbors house
And got the attention of my friend Frank O’Dell
Him and Frank pulled me up out off that ditch
And I know I’m greatly indebted, to ‘William Tell’

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Out of the moonlit winter dark
Comes the mornin’ light
And the smell of fresh coffee
Brings an’ open eye

Now Ol’ Cookie’s good bacon and eggs
Biscuits, gravy an’ Mulligan stew
Starts the day right . . .
Take a sandwich or two

Grab my saddle an’ blanket
Throw it on that ol’ horse
Tell `em how good ‘he’ is
An’ cinch `em up tight, of course

I’m gon’na ride all day
Got some fences to mend
It’s a two hour ride
To the rivers first bend

Crossin’ the prairie ground
We come up on a rattlesnake
Lets back up Ol’ horse
There’s other trails to take

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One broken old rope
Someone laughed
Sounded like the devil
One stallion reared up
And took the rest of the rope
When his hoofs hit the gravel

So Lefty knew the trouble he had
He'd told stories sounded same about his dad
He was young and strong and swift on his feet
That old horse was gone
To run
Was no need

Two riders on herd
Had 'em gathered
Bedded down for the night
That stallion ran straight
In to five hundred scared cows
They stampeded out of sight

Frank and John had caught themselves a mount
Me and ol' Tommy got our out of the crowd
And Lefty caught a mare and lost his pride
That stallion had gone
Full run
'Til daylight

Two ol' cows standin'
Under an Oak
Crossin' hills early shine
And fifteen was there
Under the big sycamore
That stallion still out of sight

What a whole bunch of lazy ol' cows
I mean we had them danged ol' cows rounded up
With Lefty and the mare no where in sight
That stallion was gone
I sp'ose
Served him right

Best of friends, Lefty
And that stallion
They never got along
The stallion was boss
He'd a mind of his own
Lefty knew he was long gone

While Lefty was makin' his return
He was still lookin' for something he missed
He'd turn and stare and shiver up his spine
That stallion was near
Had him
In his sights

A chance to get even
The mare was no match
Left the man on the ground
Lookin' at the champ
Wouldn't let him up
'Til he promised to change his ways
There they came, the stallion
Pushin' Lefty ev'ry step he'd take

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