Jim
As the evening star began to shine,
The weary pony was homeward bound,
The familiar trail was deep with snow
And so they had to travel slow.
The blizzard had been a bad one,
You could tell it in his face,
But the calf that lost his mother
Was warm in Jim's embrace.
Safe within the shelter,
He'd feed his trusty steed,
Then go and find a mama,
For the calf there at his feet.
The sun so hot it blistered,
Just another swath or two,
And he'd go home to Ruby,
And her delicious stew.
The chores had been attended,
The kids were having fun,
He stripped and hung the harness,
And now his day was done.
Tomorrow was the Sabbath,
It was a special day,
They planned to go a fishing,
The heck with all the hay.
His heart it had no boundries,
When someone's luck was down,
Jim would do what e're it took
And never wear a frown.
All those years he'd trailed cattle,
With someone else's brand,
At last it was over,
They now had their own land.
The years came, the children went
To the Refuge they did go,
He herded elk, long horned steers
And the mighty buffalo.
He hung up his spurrs, they built their house
And into town they went,
He'd hunt, fish and garden,
With the cards he'd been dealt.
Sixty-nine plus years with Ruby,
Seems to have turned out fine,
I got to hand it to her
She kept him well in line.
He lay back in his rocker,
And as the moon smiled down,
It wasn't just the memories,
T'was peace of heart he found.
Cile Beer
written l998
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