Long Nicker Poems

("The Visit", Part II)

How can she not know I'm standing so near?
Perhaps, she's expecting the same to reappear
Like before after her being to me kind and sweet,
Because of fear, I made a quick and hasty...

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I've always admired 
horses
and I guess I most surely 
always will
No legend without em' 
complete
The unsung heroes of 
any heroic battle

Pony, colt, filly or mare
ride it bareback if you 
dare

Ride them to a trot, ride...

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An old Point Man phoned, “Do ya think you can do it?.  
Driving doggies and cows from the flanks of Mt. Stewart?"
Fattened on grass for a year they had stayed. 
“Move a river of...

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I was nineteen that summer
  when I met him at a buck-out,
  and I was totally smitten
  by all the Cowboy charm he had.

I thought that he was rugged,
  (and undeniably...

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That be cold sun rose yonder, our heads be hot, I'd declare,
I'll get Whitey my critter, worked all night, best she nicker.
'Bout saddlin' her real tight, or I'll headlong out of sight,
I want movin' nice...

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An Angelo Arab, you had immense spirit
dappled grey with a huge leap  over fences.
Your stable name was Tom, pedigree name
too much of a mouthful for every day use.

In your stable you were a terror...

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Flame-featured twilight, illuminate fast!
Young are the dreams of humanity vast!
Age is a mystery museums kept.
Poets and prophets in agony wept...
Core of the harpsichord, pyramid-shaped.
Moorlands and moonlight black lined and blue taped.
Volcanic spark flowing downward like...

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Well, I moved into town to live like a city slicker,
Loaded my truck, found a place, and here I am,
Though a country boy has a head a bit thicker,
City life is not so hard to...

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Valor, thy call is a countryman's claim.
Nowhere but not quite alone in the game.
Thunderbolt, twilight is perfect for you!
Hope will accrue before we all turn blue...
Singular, smiling. Sink fast in the sea?
Maybe not, young fellow....

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Only images flash through the eye of my mind
Of the horse I knew when I was only nine
Through my haunting, never-ending doubt,
The tears of love and loss flow out.
Still stands time,
As silent as a mime.
How...

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She has a cowgirl hat and a set of spurs,
And sometimes she's as gentle as a cat that purrs,
Imagine that....she's my way with words,
And her and I together'd tame a buffalo herd,

Yea! she's the cats...

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I awaken in the dawn
to the canyon's morning song
I hear the hawks good morning cry
High in the trees, ancient voices sigh

Sister owl settles in for a rest
A whitetail fawn gives her legs a test
Somewhere down...

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Their faces are still there;
caricatures and cameos,
amigo mugs and jug ears.
Cheering, jeering chums
that would phone at four in the morning
to garble drunken thoughts,
make momentous plans,
or borrow ten quid.
The oddball humorist
and part-time suicide,
the drama queen
contesting her...

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Night, drape deep in slumber.
O dream, to nightmare turn?
Multitude, legion, number!
Death, dearth to discern...

Rule of law in wasted land?
Show them, when ye stand.
Orderly, cold countermand?
Break before bed, band.

Young fools making with the schtick?
Candle, burn out...

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A bolt of pain
Stabs at my sorrowful heart.
Paralyzed with fear and knowledge
I kneel at the side of an old friend.
My eyes swell up with tears
As I stare at the faithful loyal horse
Lying helplessly at my...

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Light my way, O autumn skies.
Tough turbulence, roll, soul. Endeavor, smoky skies.
Wanton, golden bowl? Veer. Rapture, raptor hawk?
Gibbous frost, allure, dark moon.
Cloud castles, arrive through, vortexes. Nexus.
Crystal blue-hued gusts, blow.
Sunbeams, waterfalls, heaven's tumbleweeds.
Cluster up damp,...

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Oh, nicker.  Oh, nacker.
I broke my poor cracker
While putting it in my soup.
I just wanted a nibble,
But the soup had to quibble,
And thus all my plans turned to poop.

So now I'm here sittin'
A poor...

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~~~~~~~

Pals

Their faces are still there;
caricatures and cameos,
amigo mugs and jug ears.

Cheering, jeering chums
that would phone at four in the morning
to garble drunken thoughts,
make momentous plans,
or borrow ten quid.

The oddball humorist
and part-time suicide,
the drama queen
contesting her...

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Upon the meadow where you were born,
I make a vow to stay by your side,
And though my heart in anguish is torn,
Tear-filled eyes remember our last ride.

You breathe hard as you lay in the grass.
Your...

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Sweat-stained Stetson, 
On the wall, 
Muddy boots, 
In the hall, 
Stand and wait, 
Sometimes they call, 
Saddle-up and ride. 

Spurs left hanging, 
On a chair, 
Saddle, oiled, 
Over there, 
Sit and wait, 
With patient care,...

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He was fiery black and fast as the wind
and dominated his herd tenderly
yet he had ties, silken cords, him to bind
to her that graced his life preciously

He would greet her with a joyous nicker
as he...

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