Albert1434

Thanks so much!

Dughlas the mad dog!

Troublemaker!

Chris having fun!

Thank you for this. Cowboys lived with solitude as a kind of shadow, and I’m glad those pieces carried some of that truth for you. You’re right — playing it safe was rarely an option for men who rode that kind of life, and death was never far from the firelight. Campfire Ballad was meant to hurt a little. Sometimes the hardest thing to face isn’t a gun or a storm, but the moment a man chooses not to fight for what his heart wants. I understand wishing he had — part of me wished it too. Your words mean a great deal. I’m grateful the poems stirred something in you. Cheers to you as well.

Not when you see what is inside!

Aloha All!

Very enjoyable!

To much truth in this poem

These three poems form a quiet arc of a life — from the innocence of boyhood, through the ache of adult regret, to the tempered clarity of hard‑won wisdom. Each piece stands on its own, yet together they read like chapters of the same inner autobiography. “Within” is tender without ever becoming saccharine. It captures the sacredness of childhood friendship with a precision that feels lived rather than imagined. The imagery — blue‑stained lips, dragonflies, ragweed swords — is vivid enough to summon memory even in readers who never lived such a summer. Beneath the playfulness runs a subtle emotional current: the dawning awareness of love in its earliest, purest form. The final stanza lands with quiet force, revealing that the meadow was not just a place, but a beginning. “If Only” shifts into adulthood with a stark honesty that refuses to hide behind poetic flourish. The speaker confronts cowardice, loss, and the self‑deceptions that feel noble in the moment but hollow in hindsight. The poem’s strength lies in its restraint — no melodrama, just the steady, painful accounting of choices not taken. The repeated “if only” becomes a tolling bell, marking the distance between what was possible and what remains. “Lessons” is the distilled voice of someone who has lived long enough to understand that wisdom rarely arrives gently. The haiku‑like structure suits the content: brief flashes of truth, each one earned. The poem acknowledges darkness, hope, pride, and humility with the simplicity of someone who has stopped performing for the world and started speaking plainly. Taken together, these poems reveal a writer unafraid to look backward, unafraid to admit fault, and unafraid to name beauty where it once lived. They are intimate without being confessional, emotional without being indulgent, and honest in a way that lingers.

These poems trace a quiet, deeply human journey — from the innocence of boyhood in Within, to the ache of regret in If Only, to the distilled clarity of Lessons. Each piece is vivid without excess, honest without self‑pity, and grounded in lived experience. Together they form a portrait of a life marked by tenderness, missteps, and the wisdom that comes only after both. They linger because they feel true.

I’m mighty glad those lines settled with you. A cowboy’s life was a hard trail, but there was a kind of truth in it — a man riding for more than coin, following something he couldn’t name but felt all the same. If the poem caught even a piece of that, then it did its job.

Thank you for saying that. If the poems struck something hidden, then I’m grateful they found their way to it. There’s no shame in being moved by a line or a sound — it only means you’re human enough to feel what most keep buried. And yes… whatever chord it touched, that stays between us.

A Cowboy’s Choices He rose with the sun on a dust‑colored morn, Boots worn thin, hat weather‑torn. The trail ahead was wide as the sky, But every mile asked who and why. He could ride for the wages, ride for the land, Ride for the memory of his father’s hand. Or turn his horse toward a softer life, One without storms, hunger, or strife. But a cowboy’s heart ain’t built for ease— It leans toward wind and open seas Of prairie grass and drifting herds, Where silence

Poems about Cowboys

Nope I used the right one!

The things you see here are unbelievable!

Aloha All

Thank you so much for this thoughtful review. I’m glad the chapter resonated with you. The power struggle at the heart of the story is meant to feel layered and unpredictable, because—as you pointed out—so many of the players are driven by motives that aren’t always noble or transparent. Questioning loyalties becomes essential when every faction believes it alone deserves authority. I’m especially pleased that the line about the governed and the clergy stood out to you. Their influence is often underestimated, yet they can shift the balance more dramatically than any army or ruler. Your connection to issues in today’s world is exactly the kind of reflection I hoped the story would spark. History tends to echo itself, and the tensions between power, faith, and public trust are as relevant now as ever. Thank you again for reading so closely and engaging so deeply with the themes. Your insight adds another layer to the conversation.

Yellowstone nearing eruption as new study finds magma brimming below the surface: scientists! Now this is scarey!

We have had 100 aftershocks!

I am never wrong!