~ After the storm…

That storm had my heart beating
as I rode herd through the night
All that rumbling of thunder
and savage flashes of light

The darkness felt uneasy
as drenching rain fell in shrouds
And with each flash of lightning
I saw thick black boiling clouds

Well the storm has passed on by
and morning drifts o’er the plain
I sit here in my saddle
tired and damp from last night’s rain

Gazing across this landscape
where everything’s been washed clean
There’s a mist on the mountains
so heavy they can’t be seen

The cattle graze peacefully
day rises over the hills
Under this low hanging sky
my world sits silent and still

From between my horses ears
in this gray light of the day
I see all of God’s glory
so I bow my head to pray

To thank God for seeing fit
to bring me through that dark night
Letting me witness once more
his majestic morning light

Sometimes it makes me wonder
how Heaven could truly be
anything more glorious
than this valley is to me

~ Daydreaming…

If I could only be a summer breeze
gently stirring the leaves of aspen trees
while drifting slow across this valley floor

If I could only be a butterfly
then I could flit and float about the sky
rest upon some flowers to be adored

If I could only be a red tailed hawk
then the people would point at me and gawk
while high up above their heads I would soar

If I could only be a spotted deer
I would drink from the mountain stream so clear
I could see the trout swimming from the shore

If I could only gather up the nerve
I could give you the life that you deserve
I would never be alone anymore

But I cannot be any of these things
because it is a cowboy’s life I sing
and a cowboy I will stay evermore

A sliver of October moon
sinks slow into the western night
and the life of a billion stars
begin to fade beyond my sight

The black curtain of night dissolves
as colors flare the eastern sky
The glorious hues of morning
proudly herald a new sunrise

Heaven’s light spreads o’er the valley
telling all the world to arise
Bright autumn leaves upon the trees
mimic the grandeur of the sky

Sunflowers turn their golden heads
to the promise of what’s to come
A melody from wings on high
sing a joyous praise to the sun

I get a little misty eyed
as other cowboy start to come
Can’t help but feel a little sad
that this night-herders job is done

Rippling down the mountainside
flows a clean blue Alpine stream
Bubbling o’er the valley floor
like an image from a dream

Horses grazing in the grass
song birds singing from the trees
Butterflies flitting about
floating on a summer breeze

Wisps of clouds drifting along
a bright sun hangs in the sky
casting a shade from the trees
to where two young lovers lie

Hand in hand they make their plan
a future so bright and gay
All the world is in their arms
this heavenly day in May

Perhaps in all the moments
that’s ever been known to man
T’was never one more serene
than this painting from God’s hand

Prairie Time
Jerry Brotherton
2020