Eight Miles Left (+2)

With ten more miles of wire,

my horse wants to turn back

There’s dark clouds over the mountain,

just a small tent in my sack

The fence line sits all busted,

from two bulls that went astray

They both missed being neutered,

last year on roundup day

My hands are cold and blistered,

that salve jar all but gone

Two wolves begin to howling,

that lonesome prairie song

The storm clouds all have thickened,

light pulls its covers back

Just one more night on the western slope

—with eight miles left to track

‘From The ‘Searching For Crazy Horse Collection’

‘Read In Elko Nevada Years Ago’

My Heart Revived

Reconnecting with the melody,

my life fell into place

Those pieces that were missing,

back home—a saving grace

That spot inside most empty,

the one I tried to hide

Music filled above the rim,

with joy—my heart revived

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

Hope Never Rests

While looking for a bridge

to cross over tonight

Connecting time honored values

to internet blight

I thought and I pondered,

as I surfed on the net

But the things that it offered

were sadly abject

Where is the laughter,

the thrill of the chase

Through forest and meadow,

with all of your mates

Gone is the connection,

looking eye into eye

Replaced with an I-pad,

and virtual lies

The children are programmed,

their bits and their bytes

With screens the new playgrounds,

their couches—their life

Where all of this leads,

I’m fearful to know

As I look for that bridge,

where our youth can still go

To return from the chaos,

to a welcoming time

Where friendships were made,

in a tree you just climbed

But the harder I search,

the dimmer it gets

Quicksand reinvented,

their minds it besets

Though cards stack against me,

I remain on my quest

The young are still worth it

—and hope never rests

(Villanova Pennsylvania: July, 2017)