I stood and watched in silence
as the townsfolk gathered ‘round;
A pine box sitting in the sunlight
Near the mound of dirt dug from the ground.
As I listened to the eulogy
read by the resting cowboy’s son;
I thought, how many memories there must be,
If shared by everyone.
I thought about the stretch of time
the old cowboy’s life had spanned;
And wondered if on this earth,
he’d done all that he had planned.
How many changes he had witnessed
through that stretch of time;
Life more simple trading places with complexity,
Or vice versa in some folk’s minds.
How many bleachers he had sat on
To watch his kids and grands play ball;
How many cows he must have branded,
Too many to count them all.
How many miles he’d ridden horseback
Trailing cattle on their route;
And how he dreamed of being a cowboy
And how he made that dream come true.
When a handshake was a promise
And freedom was his land;
He lived his life as a great cowboy
Riding for his brand.

~carla reams
12/29/18
#creamspoems