Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Cowboy in Him

                                                                                 Photo: Erwin E Smith
Image: Bronco on the Open Range
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

He dug into his heels
The stirrups impacted deeper
The stallion lunged forward

It had been a long day
But he got his wish
Sitting pretty as cowboys would
The mount acted in unison
It transformed its pace
And progressed faster

How he loved to be back
On familiar territory
He questioned his wisdom though
Of trying to relive a page of his past

He was a lone cowboy
In the big country
He had his buddies then
And they roamed the plains

His fortunes took a turn for the better
A rich uncle upon his demise
Bequeathed large sums of wealth
And an ongoing outfit bearing the family name
That brought him to the Big Apple
Expecting him to dwell in high finance
To rescue and sustain the business
Of which he had no clue whatsoever

But he had to do it
The family honor was at stake
He tried to lead the team
There were initial sniggers
But he managed
The trick was to put his money
On a whiz-kid to run the show
But not to let his guard down
Keeping tabs every inch of the way

Now he is able to give a sigh of relief
To spend the festive holidays on the ranch
Where he rightly belongs
And forget Wall Street for the moment

Written for Marian’s hosting of World's End at Real Toads
to show an episode of the past

12 comments:

  1. I miss the life growing up on a cattle ranch in Western US. But it isn't all so romantic as it's portrayed in books, verse and song. Try feeding 500 head of cows in the midwinter morning darkness at -40F. Oh and by the way . . . working cowboys seldom ever gallop a horse. It puts the horse too much at risk. Just saying!

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    1. Thanks for the clarification, SP. Amended it to make it a more general comment.

      Hank

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  2. Two different lives and has to chose the one that feels most like home

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  3. I wish I had a rich uncle. Quite a difference a cowboy to finance.. sometimes we have no choice but to change gears or horses. Nicely portrayed, Hank.

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  4. You've spun quite the story-line and established a character to boot in this poem...well done!

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  5. see, this is just great. how to structure your life so you can live it out like you did back when. without a clue about some things, but savvy about others. this is excellent!

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  6. Your poem hearkens back to a lifestyle which is all but over. I am sure there are many old cowboys who long for the way things were, as hard as the life must have been back then.

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  7. Wonderful read Hank. thanks for sharing this great verse.

    Yvonne.

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  8. Very vivid reminder of what people often must give up, and how they sometimes can get it back. Happy New Year to you, Hank.

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  9. Oh this sounds like a good way to travel back in time.. like the safety valve we all need... A happy new year to you Hank.

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  10. at least on the range, the horse sh!t is real. on wall street.... did you see The Wolf of Wall Street that just came out? Glorifies all that (expletive deleted) that went on / goes on there. ~

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  11. Such interesting contrasts in this--glad for your character's ability to go back!

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