~ Dreaming Again…


On dreary winter days when angels weep
I pull a memory from those I keep
and dream of dancing in the summer’s sun

As winter’s cold devours each brown blade
her blanket of snow covers hill and glade
I dream of dancing in the summer’s sun

When leafless limbs get whipped and tossed
I look through my window burdened with frost
and dream of dancing in the summer’s sun

~Jack and Jill…


Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after

We all know
there’s more to go
about this well disaster
Jack got home
started to moan
went to see Doc McMaster

Well ole doc
looked at the clock
said the store’s open uptown
So he wrote
Jack out a note
Told him, “these will fix your crown”

Mom found out
when Jack went out
he was with that slut Jill Brown
Jack got home
mom wasn’t alone
she said son set your ass down

This man here
is preacher Greer
he has some questions for you
If you’ve been
playing again
there’s only one thing to do

Jack and Jill
stayed wed until
their fourteenth child was brand new
Jack was quick
got in his Buick
left Jill living in a shoe

The next time
a hill you climb
just make the right selection
If you go
you need to know
use some kind of protection

~ Learning to Cowboy…

He grew one of them bushy mustaches
like Sam Elliot wears under his nose
Bought him some fancy duds from Cabela’s
sure looked spiffy in his Buckaroo clothes

Alligator skin boots and silver spurs
thought he looked like all them real cowboys did
Added chaps and ten gallon Stetson hat
and called himself the Kansas City Kid

He’d got him a Palomino horse that
he didn’t have a darn clue how to ride
And a beat up old red Ford pickup truck
with a blue eyed dog to be by his side

He packed up and headed to Montana
from his home in the woods of Missouri
Said he was fixin to be a cowboy
and the best anyone would ever see

He rattled that old truck to Montana
it conked out right there in front of the ranch
He said he wanted to learn to cowboy
if the boss seen fit to give him a chance

Well the boss brought him out to the bunkhouse
told all us cowboys that his name was Tim
Said he wants to be a cowboy you see
so show him the ropes and take care of him

I asked him what he knew about branding
could he stick an iron to a cow’s rump
He said he would probably be alright
if I’d be kind enough to show him once

Well can you at least ride that horse of yours
to cut out a heifer or throw your rope
That boy looked at me straight into my eyes
Gave me a slight grin then shook his head “nope”

Think you might be able to break a bronc
that has spent its whole life out running wild
“Well I was in a real mean sheep bustin
back in Missouri when I was a child”

What about fixin up supper vittles
I might be able to use me a cook
“Pretty sure I can do a decent meal
as long as I have some kinda cookbook”

Well I got me these here bulls need cutting
and a short stretch of fence that you could mend
Can’t be that hard to cut a bull he says
if you would just show me how to begin

That was twenty years ago boss hired Tim
cause there was something in him he could see
Tim spent all that time learning to cowboy
and became the best there would ever be

~ For Free…

Only a dime a dozen for these broken dreams
a free wooden nickel with each pack of lies
a jar of hoodwinks, flimflams and befuzzles
a bucket of lost hope and a box of how time flies
a Brooklyn bridge, a few penniless thoughts
next to some wasted time and that mirror and smoke
some dirt-cheap hooks, lines and sinkers
a bunch of fake smiles and a couple pigs in a poke
some bamboozles and a few hornswoggles
a pile of ashes from some bridges I’ve burned
a sows ear, some silver thread and a gold needle
a silk purse filled with the lessons I never could learn

~ Feeling Okay…

My blood pressure is up
cholesterol is too
I have a heart-beat that is quite erratic
My blood sugar reads high
LDL is too low
the scale says that my weight is still pathetic

My hearing is near gone
one eye is almost blind
my doctor informed me with a slight chortle
Well now Jerry, my friend
at least you are not dead
but remember that you are not immortal

So here’s another pill
if you take it you’ll feel
just a little bit more like you did before
But the best thing for you
would be to take a long walk
and leave all the ice cream and pie at the store