I wuz sittin’ on my horse, 

On a summer’s day, so warm

Never thinkin’ som’pin’s  wrong

Never thinkin’ of no harm

When I wuz layin’ on the ground 

An’ no sight there in my eye

An’ I knowed it wuz all over,

An’ I knowed I soon would die.



I got up to the new ranch

An’ at the pasture gate so pearly

I wuz thinkin’ I wuz too young

An’ I got checked out way too early

When the foreman, named of Pete

Sez, “Lean ag’in the fence

I’ll check out yer resume

An’ see what ya got done hence.”



So’s I lean on the corral

While he reads about my life

“Welpt, ya never dealt a second

Nor cheated on yer wife.

But ya ain’t been a goody twoshoes.

An’ some black marks is on yer score.

So jus’ hang out a while

I got to think on ya some more.”



So in a while he sez ta me,

“To come to work this spread

Ya got to average seventy,

Or better, ta get ahead

But ya don’t quite make the grade

Ya ain’t been doin’ fine

Yer close, I gotta tell ya

Fer yer average’s sixty nine.”





“Let me call headquarters

An’ ask ‘em what to do

Should we put ya on at our spread

Or coal shovel give to you.”

With my heart up near my chin

I try to act serene

But I’m wishin’ I’d a lived 

A life a bit more clean.



He hangs up the phone and motions

Fer me to come o’er to the gate

It seemed like quite some time

That he had made me wait,

But a smile comes across his lips

An’ he sticks out his hand to say

“Welpt, I guess that yer a hired hand

On the bar heaven start today”



There’s some bunkhouse rules here

You ain’t come across before

An’ ya better be a larnin’ ‘em

An’ ya better know the score

Ya see the bunkhouse o’er there

It’s marble, gleamin’ white

An’ the cow trails are all paved with gold

An’ ya ain’t allowed to fight.



The trees will always give ya shade

An’ the crick flows very clear

An’ the grass is belly high and green

An’ it grows new ever’ year.

An’ the calves is borned already tame

An’ the ladies all is fair

But fer the guys that’s outa line

We got a time out chair.



“A time out chair?” I sez to ‘im

“What the heck is that?

It’s been nigh on ta sixty years

Since in one o’ them I’ve sat”

“Yer startin’ a new faze of life

An’ it has just begun.

An’ if ya act like yer a kid

We’ll treat ya just like one”



The summer skies ain’t cloudy

An’ the bunkhouse bed is soft

An’ there’s more hay in the meadow

Than ya can put up in the loft

An’ the dogs don’t bark, nor bite

An’ the horses all is fast

But the time out chair I mentioned

It is made of solid brass”



Welpt, I wuz  ridin’ out the night guard

When a voice what ain’t so tender

Come  ‘cross the meadow to me

Like gravel in a blender

I hadn’t been a lookin’

An’ I guess my friend had died

I wuz now ridin’ with my comrade

Yup, me an’ ol’ Rawhide.



Welpt, we sorta had to whoop it up

An’ we made a little noise

An’ we wuz runnin’ ‘roun’ like locos

When the foreman sez “Hey Boys!

I tol’ ya of the rules,

When you two got hired on

Don’ make me get ta wishin’

That I had sent ya gone.



So, ya get to spend some time

In the time out chair”

To me he sez, “Use that ‘un”

To Rawhide,  “Yers is there”

He’d tol me ain’t no jail

Fer the guys with too much fun

An’ as far as the chair thing goes

Guess they need more’n one.



In the time out chair

Ya sit an’ jus’ stare at the wall

The stars ya see are dim  ones

An’ ya never see one fall

No moon to light the darkness

An’ no coyotes howlin’ there

Ya just look in the corner

When yer in the time out chair.



Welpt, it seems like ever’ weeken d

Me an’ Rahide get to sit

In the chair they got that’s made of brass

An’ reflect on our ways a bit

But, we’re still glad that we got hired

An’ we’re  on this side of the gate

An’ the time out chairs in heaven

Is where we congregate.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2009 02:07AM by Merc.

Terry, a great read overall.
This part:

So’s I lean on the corral
While he reads about my life
“Welpt, ya never dealt a second
Nor cheated on yer wife.
But ya ain’t been a goody twoshoes.
An’ some black marks is on yer score.
So jus’ hang out a while
I got to think on ya some more.”

reminds me of a quotation by Grantland Rice, the famous sports writer.

For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks-not that you won or lost-
But how you played the game.


Les

I like the quiet ending of this one, Terry. A change from your usual zinger punch lines, but comforting. The idea that Heaven provides time out chairs which are not too bad, where old friends can meet regularly and have a chat. Somehow it reminds me of a favorite quote from Hilaire Belloc:

From quiet homes and first beginning, 

out to the undiscovered ends, 

there's nothing worth the wear of winning, 

but laughter and the love of friends. 

Ian

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2009 06:39PM by IanAKB.

Cowboy,

We could all use another one of your yarns woven from the thread of your imagination or your life.

Hope all is well. I won't even bring up any sore points in the news.

cheers,

Peter from the city.

p.s.

This was the most recent posting I could find with your brand on it: April 29, 2022 08:33PM

Peter,

In case Terry hasn't seen one of your other posts on the point, tell him how he can restore the line breaks in his posted poems.

Best,

Ian

I wuz sittin'on my horse on a summer’s day, so warm
Never thinkin’ som’pin’s wrong
Never thinkin’ of no harm
When I wuz layin’ on the ground
An’ no sight there in my eye
An’ I knowed it wuz all over,
An’ I knowed I soon would die.

I got up to the new ranch
An’ at the pasture gate so pearly
I wuz thinkin’ I wuz too young
An’ I got checked out way too early
When the foreman, named of Pete
Sez, “Lean ag’in the fence
I’ll check out yer resume
An’ see what ya got done hence.”

So’s I lean on the corral
While he reads about my life
“Welpt, ya never dealt a second
Nor cheated on yer wife.
But ya ain’t been a goody twoshoes.
An’ some black marks is on yer score.
So jus’ hang out a while

I got to think on ya some more.”
So in a while he sez ta me,
“To come to work this spread
Ya got to average seventy,
Or better, ta get ahead
But ya don’t quite make the grade
Ya ain’t been doin’ fine
Yer close, I gotta tell ya
Fer yer average’s sixty nine.”

“Let me call headquarters
An’ ask ‘em what to do
Should we put ya on at our spread
Or coal shovel give to you.”
With my heart up near my chin
I try to act serene
But I’m wishin’ I’d a lived
A life a bit more clean

He hangs up the phone and motions
Fer me to come o’er to the gate
It seemed like quite some time
That he had made me wait,
But a smile comes across his lips
An’ he sticks out his hand to say
“Welpt, I guess that yer a hired hand
On the bar heaven start today”

There’s some bunkhouse rules here
You ain’t come across before
An’ ya better be a larnin’ ‘em
An’ ya better know the score
Ya see the bunkhouse o’er there
It’s marble, gleamin’ white
An’ the cow trails are all paved with gold
An’ ya ain’t allowed to fight.

The trees will always give ya shade
An’ the crick flows very clear
An’ the grass is belly high and green
An’ it grows new ever’ year.
An’ the calves is borned already tame
An’ the ladies all is fair
But fer the guys that’s outa line
We got a time out chair.

“A time out chair?” I sez to ‘im
“What the heck is that?
It’s been nigh on ta sixty years
Since in one o’ them I’ve sat”
“Yer startin’ a new faze of life
An’ it has just begun.
An’ if ya act like yer a kid
We’ll treat ya just like one”

The summer skies ain’t cloudy
An’ the bunkhouse bed is soft
An’ there’s more hay in the meadow
Than ya can put up in the loft
An’ the dogs don’t bark, nor bite
An’ the horses all is fast
But the time out chair I mentioned
It is made of solid brass”

Welpt, I wuz ridin’ out the night guard
When a voice what ain’t so tender
Come ‘cross the meadow to me
Like gravel in a blender
I hadn’t been a lookin’
An’ I guess my friend had died
I wuz now ridin’ with my comrade
Yup, me an’ ol’ Rawhide.

Welpt, we sorta had to whoop it up
An’ we made a little noise
An’ we wuz runnin’ ‘roun’ like locos
When the foreman sez “Hey Boys!
I tol’ ya of the rules,
When you two got hired on
Don’ make me get ta wishin’
That I had sent ya gone.

So, ya get to spend some time
In the time out chair”
To me he sez, “Use that ‘un”
To Rawhide, “Yers is there”
He’d tol me ain’t no jail
Fer the guys with too much fun
An’ as far as the chair thing goes
Guess they need more’n one.

In the time out chair
Ya sit an’ jus’ stare at the wall
The stars ya see are dim ones
An’ ya never see one fall
No moon to light the darkness
An’ no coyotes howlin’ there
Ya just look in the corner
When yer in the time out chair.

Welpt, it seems like ever’ weeken d
Me an’ Rahide get to sit
In the chair they got that’s made of brass
An’ reflect on our ways a bit
But, we’re still glad that we got hired
An’ we’re on this side of the gate
An’ the time out chairs in heaven
Is where we congregate.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2022 08:54PM by les712.

Terry,

This formatting works best with < pre> one line before the text and < /pre> one line after the text, omitting the space after the
Peter

This made me smile...

T-Bone

It's been a while.
Seems someone forgot to wipe their feet.
Ya got some real turds in here nowadays.

Anyway, I'll do some reading and get back to you.


Jack

Good to see your name on the board, jack.

Les

Les-

It's good to be back.
The list of contributors has thinned considerably.
I have lots of catching up to do. Don't be surprised to see me up to my old habits. Let the bunping begin.

I'm glad you and some of my favorites are still (barely) around. Though some of my favoUrites seem to be MIA.

Jack

i see i spelled welpt wrong jes the other day.