Came back to Texas in seventy two -
I'd seen California - no more to do.
I remembered a girl, was she still here?
Matter of fact there were four that were dear.
So I did look them up - one at a time -
Three were wed and the fourth wasted a dime.
Ah, but I was young and glad to be back.
I was single with one suitcase to pack.
So roam I did from desert to river.
Summers I'd sweat and Winters I'd shiver.
I cowboyed a while and dug some for oil -
Lived in the mesquite where sand was the soil.
Met lots of women but never found one
That gave me a reason to say I'm done.
So here I lay pushin' all those years back -
An old, old man with one suitcase to pack.
2/21/18
For Line Gauthier's contest "Where were you in the 70's"
Travel trailers, trophy buckles
And Blue Ribbon bottles,
Litter my ol’ lonely landscape
Of rodeo battles.
I lost a few and won a few
And traveled down the road—
I lived for that 8-second ride—
Thought town jobs were a load.
I cowboyed up and cowboyed down—
Touched too many a heart—
I never realized all those dreams—
Greet folks at the WalMart.
Trailers, trophies and stale warm beer—
Rodeo don’t seem real—
They’re all just empty as my life—
Now I know how cows feel.