A Cowboy Doesn't Whine

A Cowboy Doesn’t Whine

By Mike Williams

He dreamed he was a cowboy

When he went on his first ride

But he fell and landed mighty hard

When his pony bucked and shied

He cried out for his mother

He was only four or five

But his dad said “get back on that horse

A cowboy doesn’t whine”

When he was a teenager

The girl of his dreams

Left him for the captain

Of the high school football team

He wanted to go after her

To beg her for more time

But he just let her walk away

“A cowboy doesn’t whine.”

He rode the open rangelands

For ranches big and small

Rank horses, wild cattle

He cowboy’d through it all

No matter what the weather

Rain, snow, sleet or shine

You’d never hear him grumble

“A cowboy doesn’t whine”

He finally built his own heard

Buying cattle one buy one

Then the worst drought in fifty years

Made him think he might be done

He cowboy’d up and made it through

Though he didn’t have a dime

He just took things day by day

“A cowboy doesn’t whine”

So next time that you see him

When he comes into town

He’s got a limp, his back is stiff

And his pickup trucks broke down

You ask him how he’s doing

He tells you that he’s fine

You know why he’s lying

“A cowboy doesn’t whine”                                                      By Mike Williams

The Gather

The Gather                           by Mike Williams   July 18, 2013

My dogs are all tired and my cow horse is slow

I got less than hour of daylight to go

I wouldn't worry

Except I can see

The hours it’ll take me to finish is three

When I started the day I had a good plan

The cowboys I had here to help me were hands

We started our circles

In pretty good shape

But it all went to hell when I saw 308

She saw me as soon as I crested the hill

There’s a good chance I’d a been chasing her still

But she came to a cliff

Had to make a hard right

She dropped into a draw and vanished from sight

I sighed with relief after that little foray

At least when she ran, she ran the right way

But in all the commotion

Six or eight head

Ran up the mountain behind me instead

I climbed to the top, got them turned around

I took a short break, and then started back down

Then way off on a ridge

On my left I could see

A cow chewing cud, lying under a tree

 It took me forever, riming around

To get close enough to get her started down

I was beginning to think

I’d be way behind

Starting these cows had took way too much time

Then off in the distance, I could barely see Ron

Climbing the side of the hill he was on.

That old brindle cow

Was giving him hell

If he gets her caught she’ll go to the sale

Lynda was having a hell of a time

With that mutton faced cow, number 369

Sara was down there busting her ass

Getting cows out of a brushy crevasse

If you think this sounds tough, I can honestly say

This was the story, for most of the day

Close to the corrals

Things got kind of tense

When old 64 ran straight through the fence

                 

Now here I am scrambling, with the sun going down

Whishing I’d taken that job back in town

Just a reminder

When things go all wrong

The life of a cowboy’s not all sunsets and songs

So You Want to be a Cowboy

So you want to be a cowboy

By Mike Williams

“So you want to be a cowboy?”

That old man asks of me.

“You don’t look quite as crazy

As I think you’ll need to be.”

He stood there for a moment

like he had more to say

Then he shrugged his shoulders,

And he turned and walked away.

“What’s he know?” I ask myself.

He’s just an old sad sack.

“Sunsets, open range, and horseback rides.

What’s crazy about that?”

I hired on, and soon found out

My dreams were all askew.

Sunsets to a cowboy

Is just something you work through.

The open range was filled with bugs.

It was dusty, dry, and hot.

And the horses in the string I drew

All liked to buck a lot.

The cows were hard to gather.

They were wild, mean, and tough.

The country side was brushy,

It was rocky, steep and rough.

I was disillusioned.

And it grew each passing day.

I really thought I’d had enough

When I saw my meager pay.

I kinda hit a low point

Reality had hit

But I couldn't walk away just now.

I had more try than quit.

I’m not quite sure what kept me there.

Perhaps it was my pride.

But the horses seemed to settle down

The more I learned to ride.

The cattle seemed to calm down too.

As I learned more of their ways.

And sunsets seemed more beautiful

After those long hard days.

I'm not sure exactly when
My attitude began to change
But I fell in love with the vastness
and the grandeur of the range

This way of life had hooked me.

Now that I’d had a taste.

And any other line of work

Now seemed like such a waste.

I ran into that old man again.

At a branding in the spring.

With a big ol' smile, he shook my hand and said

He said “your crazier then you seemed.”