A Cowboy's Lament

13 Comments

Tags:
  • Sadness

    Poem Commentary

    More cowboy poetry

    A Cowboy's Lament

    Sometimes when I’m riding long lonely trails

    I think of my life and all it entails

    Like sleeping with cattle stead of a nice pretty gal

    And spending my Sundays in a dusty old corral

     

    I sometimes stop and wunder what life could have been

    Had I married sweet Caroline a way…way back when

    She had hair more golden than sun dried hay

    And her skin smelled of lilacs on a soft summer day

     

    She said I could be a successful man if I tried

    And we could live in Houston after the big knot was tied.

    Have a house full of young-uns and a picket fence too

    Take long walks in the hills with a dog we’d name Blue

     

    I’m not sure why I bolted and never bothered to look back

    Guess the fear of being saddled sent me to riding the tracks

        I jumped off the train in Cheyenne with ten bucks to my name

     Got drunk the first night and ended up broke all the same

     

    Bummed around town for a while working odd jobs here and there

    Slept in the back room at a stable and cleaned stalls for my care

    I oft thought of Caroline back in Houston..her face I couldn’t furget

    I kicked my butt nightly for creating this life of regret



    But my need for freedom became my enemy in disguise

    It drove me to roaming and brought about my demise

    For try as I might I couldn’t break the spell of the road

    The night sky above me and no cares to behold

     

    Ten long years have passed and the cowboy’s life is now all I know

    I sacrificed the words “I love you” for the words “giddy-up and whoa”

        My horse Nell never answers nor does she ask for more than just feed

    And here I sit alone with a sad heart empty and in need.

     

    ©Copyright Charlie Gragg May 14, 2010

                     

        

    Poem Comments

    (13)

    Please login or register

    You must be logged in or register a new account in order to
    leave comments/feedback and rate this poem.

    Login or Register

    devaamido commented on A Cowboy's Lament

    05-30-2010

    Charlie, I've gotta admire your range & your craftsmanship. This is an excellent piece of work by anybody's standards.

    Hampton

    05/30/2010

    You are too kind. I thank you.

    Stryx commented on A Cowboy's Lament

    05-30-2010

    Sorry I missed this one - It's a wonderful write. I read it allowed, in accent, and I became that coyboy, I smelled of horse, my hay bed, and missed dear Caroline. But what the hell - I owned the sky

    Hampton

    05/30/2010

    You are a true cowboy at heart WO. Thanks for reading.

    WordSlinger commented on A Cowboy's Lament

    05-29-2010

    Complete mastery, I like this line Hampton, I sacrificed the words “I love you” for the words “giddy-up and whoa, love this, all of it, ty WS

    Hampton

    05/29/2010

    Many thanks John.

    Madelynn commented on A Cowboy's Lament

    05-20-2010

    You are such a strong storyteller- that I could hear this poem/story being read with like an ol' west Texas accent! lol, Im serious- you created the mood that srongly! I just so enjoy your work!- You always make me either smile and laugh/ or think about how to solve the worlds ignorance!! -hugz, Maddi

    Hampton

    05/20/2010

    Your comments are gracious and most appreciated by this old poem writer.

    ginga commented on A Cowboy's Lament

    05-17-2010

    Hampton, I am always amazed at your story telling framed in a perfectly rhyming poem, that highlights the personal feelings of the character(s). ty for an intriguing story of this cowboy's lament. ginga

    Hampton

    05/17/2010

    Many thanks.

    Poetry is what is lost in translation.

    Robert Frost (1875-1963) American Poet.

    Hampton’s Poems (111)

    Title Comments
    Title Comments
    Searching 5
    The Poetess 14
    Nonsense 12
    Solitude 18
    Lame Limericks 14
    Message to Papa 15
    Young Jimmy O’Fallon 11
    The Computer From Hell 18
    Life Ain’t for Sissies 16
    The Mind In Motion 13
    The Game of Poetry 9
    Silence 55
    WordSlinger 19
    Holiday Thoughts 12
    Sweet Mary 18
    From White to Grey to Black 19
    The Reckoning 12
    And All of That Jazz 16
    Today 25
    No Offense, Just My Opinion 16
    Lucky 10
    You’re Only as Old as You Feel 13
    Saturday Night 13
    Political Change? 14
    The Female Gender 17
    I’m In Charge Here, Aren’t I? ( With Epilogue) 10
    I’m In Charge Here, Aren’t I? 7
    Remembering 11
    This Web We Weave 13
    The End 16
    The Day the Clouds Cried 16
    The Path of Life 12
    My Mother Ruth 12
    Forever–ast
    er
    11
    Humanities Challenge 14
    A Cowboy's Perspective 12
    July in Buda Texas 14
    The OP Poets Parade 20
    The Chatelaine 12
    Shot Through the Heart 17
    Poetry and Fine Wine 18
    The Man What Am 10
    The Final Beat of My Heart 16
    The Rainbow of Poets 19
    A Cowboy's Lament 13
    Of This World I am Not 17
    The Wee People 19
    An Evening at an Irish Pub 15
    The Scent of Love 14
    Fresh News from Buda Texas 16
    Memories of Times Past 13
    The Dance of the Poets 20
    The Confession 14
    Road to Obscurity 18
    Barbara 14
    Shadows 15
    Prescience 17
    Words That Bind 54
    Wondering 26
    New Year News from Buda Texas 13
    We Are All Witnesses 16
    Christmas 25
    A Cowboy’s Prayer 29
    The 9 ers 24
    Love Defined 27
    Tis a Time to Give Thanks 21
    More News From Buda Texas 26
    Choices 26
    News from Buda, Texas 21
    In Search of God 21
    Writers of Poems (WOPs) 26
    Out of the Darkness 15
    Visions from Within the Mist 18
    Baseball 12
    The Night Stalker 16
    The Man I Presume to be Buck 16
    The Sounds of Time 17
    The Little Man in the Green Hat 18
    Blah Blah Blah 14
    One Two Three 13
    Carpe Viam 11
    Love in the Afternoon 13
    The Moth 14
    Lost & Dungeons of the Mind 11
    The Creative Process 19
    The Truth and the Tribe 19
    The Long Wait. 19
    Feathers 26
    The Arrow 14
    Take Two Cialis and Call Me in the Morning 26
    Ghostly Images 16
    Friends 11
    Angels Without Wings 20
    IN MY OWN WORDS 13
    The Rider 16
    Pride and Shame 18
    The Winning Poet is.... 21
    Memories 13
    Politicians 67
    Your Mailbox Is Empty 18
    God's Visit 17
    Poets and Poems 20
    Love Thy Neighbor 13
    Renewal 8
    The Roar of Silence 17
    Blessed Are These Days 4
    Time and Space 5
    Life's Journey 8
    Gift To The Fallen 16
    Hunger 21
    The Antique Shop 30