The Cowboy In the Glass

(Written as a tribute and based on the poem “The Guy in the Glass” or more commonly known as “The Man in the Glass” by Peter “Dale” Wimbrow.) When you herd in those cattle and finish that race, And life makes you the king for a day, You look in bar mirrors at a scarred face, And see what that cowboy has to say. Oh, it wasn’t a mother, a wife or ol’ pard, Who frowned on you ridin’ tall grass. It was the ol’ coot who looks at you hard, The cowboy starin’ back from the glass. He’s the ol’ cuss to please, not the one you should mock, He’s the last one that stays by your side. He’s the one that stays steady, solid as rock, The one by which you should abide. You might be like some cowboys and live on rot rum, And think you’re a heck-raisin’ poke, But the cowboy in the glass knows you’re just scum And you life’s nothin’ but a bad joke. You may fool all the boys down the trails and sunsets, And head this ol’ life off at the pass, But rewards will be tears and so many regrets If you’ve cheated the cowboy in the glass.