JUNE/JULY 2003
COWBOY POETRY:

Big Joe, the Wrangler
by Glen Enloe

Cattle Drive
by Tamara Hillman

Lest We Forget
by Rod Nichols

The Legend of Custer County
by Ish

The Mustang
by Eric John

The Stranger with the Devil's Eyes
by Roy Davenport

This Old Hat
by Norman Rourke

Witnessed the Magic
by Vanessa Raney

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THE MUSTANG
by Eric John

I saw the mustang
For the very first time
In the slaughter house pens
Were hed been sent to die

His head was high
Built solid and healthy
I thought he should not be there
This horse kind of puzzled me.

Most horses there
Were sick or afflicted
He was not one of them
He beamed his conviction

The look in his eye
Would make you breathless
It was wild and proud
His spirit it projected

He was about two
Quite solid and strong
I looked him over close
But could find nothing wrong

So why was he here?
It ran through my mind
He seems out of place
In this place and time

And how did my name
Get thrown in the cast
I wasnt the best
To take on this task

I doubted myself
Also my ability
But some how I knew
This was the place for me to be

Because I was his hope
If I turned him away
He would surely be slaughtered
And be killed this day

We were in this together
If I could make him see
I meant him no harm
If he trusted in me

But I knew by his eye
This would be a tough chore
A charge to be taken
I had not taken before

I was willing to try
If I could make him understand
His life was not over
It had really just began

I stepped in the pen
Nylon rope at the ready
He gave me a look
Then squared himself steady

He swapped eyes on me
And tested my scent
A bluff was forthcoming
I knew what it meant

I cranked my rope
And it forced his hand
It was now or never
I had to make a stand

He advanced on me
With his ears pinned tight
I had to be bold
But it took all of my might

I threw up my rope
And gave a graveled yell
The look in his eyes
Came straight out of hell

My rope fell true
And I pulled in the slack
When he hit the end of it
He spun and came back

The look in his eyes
Sure tested my grit
I wanted to run
And I wanted to quit

But I moved and dodged
And we danced in that pen
Connected by fate
And that rope at each end

I wondered again
If I had the stuff
To weather the storm
And train this tough

It had been quite awhile
Of give and then take
I was as gentle as I could
With out a mistake

He started to slow
And his bluffs were less forced
Fatigue was setting in
I was relieved of course

Because I was getting tired
My energy fading
But I could not give up
I knew for him, what was waiting

It was not long after that
He stopped and looked a me
And in his eyes
I started to see

A mutual respect
A shade of acceptance
My energy returned
In that fleeting instance

I stood dead still
Not wanting to provoke
We looked at each other
With out a word spoke

He was studying my eyes
To judge my intentions
My body, my breath
Was his main attention

I took a deep breath
And he did too
We both needed a rest
A break to regroup

Its in those passing moments
Those seconds in time
Standing face to face
His soul and mine

Connected by fate
And this short length of rope
Down in this muddy pen
It was my only hope

That hed see the light
And sense I was kind
Before his instincts
Took back over his mind

I reached through my eyes
Searching for a clue
Of what he might be thinking
Of what he might do

I looked in his eyes
Down deep inside
I saw his heart and his soul
His fear and his pride

Then I realized
In a moment of clarity
It had been there all the time
But I was too blind to see

The conflict was there
Not in this muddy hole
But inside his head
His heart and his soul

He wanted to survive
He wanted away
He wanted to be free
Not die this day

I could not decide
The choice was up to him
I could not persuade
Only be there at the end

The end of that rope
His only life line
He knew and I knew
He was running out of time

His instinct was to run
To bolt and make haste
To see him die that day
Would be such a waist

So I stood dead still
And studied those eyes
His mind was a whirl
As it tried to decide

There was no time for example
No time to surmise
He must trust in me
If he was going to survive

I chanced a slight movement
And raised up my chin
Turned my head slightly
As another might have did.

I gave a quizzical look
Like, Whats it going to be?
He snorted and stomped
And stepped away from me.

I stepped away from him
And then he stepped in
In just a moment's flash
The dance started again

Slower this time
With less haste and bother
We moved and looked
And tested each other

He was gaining his wind
Magnificent as he pranced
Earning my respect
As he led this grand dance

Back and forth it was
I gave him his due
The choice was his
And I think he knew

His old life was over
If he wanted to live
Hed have to trust me
And hed have to give

Himself over to me
And let me be the guide
Of the path he has chosen
That leads to his new life

He stopped at once
And left it up to me
To close the gap
And make him see

If his choice was in vain
Or if he could trust
A new way of thinking
A new life in us

I took off my glove
And reached out to him
He flinched at my movement
But stood fast and then

Stretched out his nose
And drew a long breath
His eyes seemed calm
When he drew back his neck

Hed made the right decision
To give it a try
I wondered at him
And ask myself why

A horse like this
A wild spirit such as he
Would give himself over
And trust in me

His instinct to run
Was some how now gone
In these few short moments
The grand dance was done

What divine force
Had moved him today
To make the right choice
And come my way

I know its not me
Because I am just mortal
The same as him
A drift in this world

Something inside
Inside and beyond
Calmed his troubled mind
And made him strong

Strong enough
To go my way
To trust in me
On his lucky day

I had no time to ponder
We had to get going
But I left there that day
With a good feeling, knowing

That there is more to them
Than just hide and bone
Theyve got a soul
And today it shown

In a proud little mustang
Wild and free
And the new life he chose
To start here with me

Copyright ©2003 Eric John.  All rights reserved.