May 2015
I was born and raised in the sand hills and oil fields of West Texas. After graduating from the University of Texas, I worked as a physicist and executive in the aerospace industry for forty years.I began writing western poetry after my retirement in 2000. I have published two books of cowboy poetry (One Foot In The Stirrup and Out Where The Blacktop Ends) and have published in several on-line sites. I now live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia.
Teach Me
He got up his courage and knocked on the door
Of the local school marm who lived 'bove the store
He'd seen her aplenty when he was in town
And got weak in the knees when she was around
He couldn't keep his mind on buildin' a fence
And the boys wondered why he'd gotten so dense
Then she opened the door and said not a word
He stammered "I'm Jim and I cain't count the herd !
If you'd teach me numbers I'd be well ahead
And ranchin' that's hard would be easy instead."
She said, "I wondered what reason to knock you would find
But counting a herd never entered my mind.
Take me to supper before we talk cattle
Then we can get past this meaningless prattle
And talk about things that we both think about
There is more on your mind than cows I don't doubt."
Her straightforward manner caught Jim unaware
He tried to think but all he could do was stare
He thought she might rope him before he knew it
Then he thought, "Well, thank God. Just let 'er do it!"
©2015 Larry Bradfield