Ridin' Home Quiet

I’m ridin’ home quiet, enjoyin’ the sight of another sun makin’ its bed,
Preparin’ to rest somewhere over West wrapped in blankets of orange, pink ‘n’ red.

It’s times just like this when I start t’ miss those pardners left somewhere behind,
When mem’ries unbidden slip from where they’ve hidden and start ridin’ free in my mind.

I’ve traveled for miles rememberin’ th’ smiles on faces that I used to know,
For once it was “we,” but now…it’s just “me.” Lord—where did all that time go?

It wasn’t intended, the way that it ended, we just sorta drifted apart,
Now I’m on my own, ridin’ alone, except for this ache in my heart.

I don’t know if ever we’ll all ride together, but I’m headin’ back, just t’ see,
If perhaps one or two—or maybe, just you—has ridden back…lookin’ for me.

Christmas Eve, Stuck at the Ranch

Christmas Eve mornin' an' I'm stuck way out here
Four hours from town an' holiday cheer.
Cuss my sorry luck! I'm the new hand, I know,
But still, it ain't fair the Boss said I can't go
Into town with the others to celebrate there.
While they're havin' fun, I'm stuck 'way out here.

Oh, I'm not plumb alone, the coosie came back
From town with supplies. Now he's in his shack
A'stirrin' up somethin' from out of a book.
He's not a bad fella for a cowboy camp cook,
But he's an old hand. Forty-seven next year!
Just too old to mind bein' stuck 'way out here.

Well, grumblin' won't make the day any more fun
An' I've got a full day of chores to get done.
First feed the stock then break up the ice
That froze in th' troughs an’ the buckets last night.
My pards drink hot cider an’ sing "Deck the Halls"
While I'm stuck 'way out here muckin' out stalls.

Oh, I knew what I's doin', signin' on as a hand,
A cowpuncher's life, it ain't always grand.
You ride early 'til late mos' ever durned day,
Work hot, tired an’ dirty. You sure earn your pay!
You feel ev'ry emotion, joy, anger an' fear.
They're part of the job when you live 'way out here.

That old round pen gate is creakin' an' draggin',
Another half-hour an' I'll quit it from saggin'.
I scoop grain for the hosses from out of a sack,
Then traipse back to the stable to mend some old tack.
How long has it been? I guess nearly a year
I signed on to cowboy an' live 'way out here.

The stable's all quiet, an' I start reminiscin'
'Bout all of the good things I think I've been missin'.
But after a spell feelin' sorry for me
My thoughts turn to all of them things I'd not see,
Like a just-borned new foal, or that big herd of deer,
If I lived in town an' not 'way out here.

My hoss stamps his foot. I stand...stretch...an’ then
I give him a carrot from out of the bin.
I glance out the window at the sun's fadin' glow
An' think of a stable twenty centuries ago.
A new ma an’ pa, an’ a Babe lyin' there.
They tell He left heaven to live 'way down here.

Why, the cowboy church preacher said that He did
As he told us a story I'd heard as a kid,
Of a king who was born just as common as me.
Who followed a trail that led to a tree,
An' now sits by the Father, in heaven somewhere,
To give life forever to sinners down here.

Christmas Eve in a stable, an uncommon place
To think about life, an’ God's lovin' grace.
But then I feel growin' a glow in my chest
As it dawns on me just how much I've been blessed
To be warmed by His sun an’ to breathe His clean air
He don't make for the city...but for just 'way out here.

While my pards take in the sights of the town
I've got all of Creation, if I just look around.
They're eatin' stuffed turkey an’ pie with ice cream,
But I've got Coosie's biscuits an’ bacon an’ beans.
I add up my blessin's an’ feel downright cheered.
Maybe life ain't so bad after all 'way out here.












©H R Chafin, 2013, 2015