The Broken Branded Cowboy and Other Red Dirt Poems (Part 1)

Inspired by the cowboys who broke my heart and left their boots by my front door.

7

The broken branded cowboy

looks upon the grassy plains,

saddled up tight,

with equal parts coffee and whiskey in his stomach.

He wonders how far it all goes,

surely the horizon has to end somewhere.

Maybe if he rides fast enough,

he can reach the place

where the grass and the sky collide.

He will try tomorrow, maybe.

Today, he has cattle to move.

There will always be cattle to move.

20

I speak English

and a little bit of Spanish.

You speak mostly in gruffs,

scratches of your beard,

small shifts in your boots,

and long stares out into the pasture.

That is a language

I do not know how to translate.

21

Broken branded cowboy,

I fear your heart wanders too far.

Wading in too deep to the fast current,

it’s hard to pull you back

and I’m scared I’m going to lose you.

I know that I will, eventually.

Your wondrous soul cannot be lassoed.

It will set out one day

and I will not be strong enough to pull it back in.

Until that time,

broken branded cowboy of mine,

throw another log on the fire

and have another drink with me

as you dip your toes into the water.

The Broken Branded Cowboy and Other Red Dirt Poems