Category: cowboy

~ Forgive This Old Cowboy…

On By Jerry BrothertonIn cowboy, Poetry15 Comments


I’ve run long and hard down this trail we call life
it’s been filled with heartache and been filled with strife
I’ve taken some things with my gun, fist and knife
But I swear I’ve always been faithful to you

Some times I’ve flirted with a filly or two
there have been times when I chased a drink or two
I sometimes didn’t do what I said I’d do
But I swear I’ve always been faithful to you

I have gambled away a paycheck or two
I’ve told some white lies but never one to you
Have I hidden cards? Maybe more than a few
But I swear I’ve always been faithful to you

I have cussed like a sailor on Friday night
Never was accused of being too polite
Had a hard time telling what’s wrong and what’s right
But I swear, I’ve always been faithful to you

Now I’m near the end of this dusty old trail
I’ve tried to make you proud but I’ve always failed
You needed the sun but I’ve forever paled
But I swear I’ve always been faithful to you

Now I have lost the trail in this setting sun
You deserved a good man but I wasn’t one
I hope you’ll find what you need after I’m gone
Remember, I’ve always been faithful to you

~ Porches…

On By Jerry BrothertonIn cowboy, Poetry10 Comments

I have known many porches throughout the years
some adorned in laughter and some wrought with tears
Porches where warm breezes floated o’er the plains
and the sunlight shimmered ‘cross green waves of grain

Porches below mountains that stood tall and proud
their snowcapped peaks towering into the clouds
Porches where sea mist fell across our faces
and ships horns faded to faraway places

Porches lost in the shadows of steel and glass
the sky had no sunshine and yards had no grass
Porches that looked out across strange foreign lands
some with views of forests, some jungles, some sand

Porches ‘neath a sky filled with millions of stars
miles away from the closest ribbon of cars
Porches where the song of birds greeted each day
and summer breezes brought the smell of fresh hay

Porches from where I’ve watched the day start anew
and sunsets that filled the sky with wondrous hue
No matter the time, the place or the weather
I’ve loved all the porches we’ve shared together

~ Campfire Nights…

On By Jerry BrothertonIn cowboy, Poetry11 Comments

By the time the sun’s faded o’er the prairie
well I’m just about as tired as tired can be
My horse has been fed and all the tack is clean
after a biscuit and a few campfire beans

I lay my head down on blanket and saddle
listening to lowing of grazing cattle
Somewhere cross the campfire a guitar gets strummed
and songs start to flow from those old cowboy’s tongues

Voices that float across those low campfire flames
telling tales of glory, riches and fame
Songs sung by punchers that history won’t name
about all those brave men who once roamed the plains

Lending voices to the songs, a coyote’s howl
the screech of a hawk and the hoot from an owl
The shuffling of the horses hitched to the line
the sough of the wind as it flows through the pine

The strum of guitar and the hum of soft tunes
The sight of the stars as they shoot cross the moon
I pray I will always have these kinds of nights
with cowboys singing across my campfire light
Jerry Brotherton
copyright 2020

~ A Wannabe Cowboy…

On By Jerry BrothertonIn cowboy, Poetry3 Comments

Well I’ve lived in this Montana country
guess it’s been pert near fourteen years
I call myself a cowboy though I ain’t
roped a horse or branded no steers

Ain’t broke me no fiery eyed wild stallion
pushed cattle across open land
never fended off a mountain lion
or killed a grizz with my bare hands

I ain’t wrangled some ornery rustlers
with my rifle and colt six gun
or spent winter alone in a line shack
or been in a bar fight just for fun

But I got me a hat, some chaps and spurs
went and watched me a rodeo
I learned that to be a real life cowboy
is more than putting on a show

Don’t need to wear a Montana slope hat
to live the good old cowboy way
It’s more about how you respect the land
and always mean just what you say

You believe in traditions and honor
love, nature, honesty and song
A person who follows his commitments
though he may have to ride alone

If you want to be a cowboy my friend
then it’s having the fortitude
to stick to convictions and do what’s right
That is the cowboy’s attitude

Jerry Brotherton
Prairie Time – a coolection of poems and prose
copywright 2020

~ Wishin’ I Was a Real Cowboy…

On By Jerry BrothertonIn cowboy, Poetry2 Comments

I am not quite a genuine cowboy
but I know that somewhere deep down inside
If I had only been born way back when
I could surely punch cows, rope, brand and ride

I always wanted to be a cowhand
Oh what a glorious life that would be
riding along with the herd cross the land
living a life that was simple and free

I’d rise before the sun started to shine
ride all day under the sweltering heat
fifteen hours a day for nearly no pay
just a biscuit and a few beans to eat

I could help a thousand head to birth calves
with cold wind a blowin’ rain down my back
or ride along a thousand miles of fence
spend a winter in a leaky line shack

When on a drive and “breakin’ day” gets called
though I was froze stiff, wet, muddy and damp
I’d roll out of bed to stretch these old bones
they would hear the popping clear cross the camp

I s’pose that now I think hard about it
maybe cowboyin’ just ain’t quite right for me
Perhaps I’ll stay here in my writer’s room
Riding the range through cowboy poetry

‘Prairie Time’- a collection of poems and prose from a wannabee cowboy

copyright 2020