Remembering

REMEMBERING It lay in a corner, on the barns bare floor
Weathered, cracked, and worn
The last time he'd used it,
Was in 64.
Rolled and tied with binders,
Of sweat, blood and tears
Stashed from sight, one cold November night.

But it could still remember,
when it was, Shinny new
How the crowds roared and cheer
When "Outside" yelled the Cowboy
As wide the gate was swung,
The broncs all bunched with muscle
Sunfished left and right,
But I held my place
In the middle
Of a twisting, jerking hide,
The Cowboy staying with me
Through seconds long as hours
Though eight was long enough,

Bright sun glint on polished leather
The bronc was held
My straps removed
My Buddy, carrys me to a nightly resting place,
Time has passed, short span or long
Who cares, for time is but a passing moment
With memories tied as tight as ours,

Now the burlap cover is slowly lifting,
I thought, my Buddy's back
But no, he's not my Buddy
Just an Old Man with hat thrown back,
I felt his hand
As he rubbed some dust away,
When I saw a tear start, I knew
This cowboy was my Buddy,
And He remembered too....

Jim Kitchens
Brady, Texas
2001