Dec 21 10'

some random thoughts from an old cowboy, maybe he’s sitting in a rocker on a beat up old porch thinking about the past and spitting tobacco juiceon his boots

it just doesn’t make sense

when you’re feeling down like this

I wish I was back fixin’ fence

on wagon hound road

where the wind blows

making me mean and lean

as I stretch wire hammer fencing nails

and watch the eagles and the magpies fly

me and the brown horse

out here everyday

seeing the everyday get shorter

than the day before

feeling the wind get colder

me and the brown horse

have done this so many times

he just drags his reins

and follows me down the fence line

my partner

carrying my fencing tools and a little roll of wire

stopping to chew on a blade of something now and then

sometimes we just both stop and watch the sky

or an antelope herd run by

at lunch I take his saddle and bridal off

he won’t go far we’ve done this together too long

I wipe him down give him a little breathing room

I unwrap a little bed roll

used it for a pillow

catch an afternoon nap

my face toward the sun

welcoming the warmth

thinking about what has been and what’s left

to be done

I fall into a nice dream

when something nibbles on my boot

the brown horse says let’s go

it’s gettin’ on in the afternoon

I saddle him up

pull out a treat from the saddlebags

a cookie for me a piece of ‘cake’ for the brown

we do another mile or so

as the sun is going down

we head back to from where we came

the brown picks it up

stepping into a trot

the barn and some warm food is at the end of the line

hay and some oats for the brown

one of Maxine’s hot evening meals for me

I start thinking about what it might be

we come to the rocky creek

as the last light of day goes down

the brown wades through and kicks it into a gallop

I let him make this spirited run to the warmth

of the evening lights of the barn

his day is almost done

the brown is slowing down just before the old barn door

I slide off even as he is skidding down to a stop

have the barn door open and leading him inside

he clip clops to a manger and finds some fresh hay

I unsaddle him rub him down

and make sure the gate to the corral is open

he’ll go out later and drink from the creek

I put everything up and head for the house

Maxine will have my food on the table and probably some kind of pie

then to the bunkhouse

crawl between the warmth of the heavy old quilt

and a fresh clean sheet

sleep will find me quickly

but not before I think about tomorrow’s chores

me and the brown horse will go up into the hills

behind the place

find some fence to fix and watch the eagles fly