BY THE RIVER MERCED

From two distant plains,
Two birds did appear,
Gracefully they lit upon a dogwood branch,
There by a spring, which waters flowed,
Into the river Merced.

There upon this flowering branch,
Where they took their rest,
And in their loving Spanish tongue, they sang,
Their song rose above the rest,
There by the river Merced.

Their song was not of sorrows,
But sang of hope and light,
Their voices raised for justice,
There by the spring, which waters flowed,
Into the river Merced.

There to the waters edge,
Came a woman with a child,
Above her head a halo arose,
And upon a rock she did sat,
There by the river Merced.

Winter had ended upon the land,
The sky was filled with Springs new light,
And from the woman's eyes tears did flow,
There into the spring, which water flowed,
Into the river Merced.

There by the waters edge,
There upon a branch did they sat,
Two birds from distant plains,
Whose songs rose above the rest,
There by the river Merced.  ©
 

Visons of the White Buffalo

Under darken wings that are spread,
Here I ride across the land,
To answer the call sent,
From the lark that calls,
From the distant prairie,
Guidance by the spirit bird,
Protector of the land,
Across streams that race,
All on their journey to meet,
Their mother, the Mississippi,
Whose waters have for eternity,
Carried the lifeblood of the land,
Since the retreat of the glaciers,
Still, a few remain out of reach,
In high distant places,
Whose soil is the tundra,
As sensitive as a newborn child,
Protected by the spirits,
Of the passing stewards,
Under the guardian eye of the Eagle,
Whose wings I find my soul,
Carried neath, their majestic span,
Across this beautiful land.

Carried high above the clouds,
By this majestic spirit bird,
With visions that are yet understood,
My eyes see the prairies below,
Herds of the mighty bison that flow,
At their lead is the mightiest one,
Snow white in color,
And upon its back, I do see,
The surviving people of this land, 
The Crow, The Paiute, The Apache, 
The Navajo, and the Taos Pueblo, 
And all the other tribes,
Extinguished by the advent,
Of European civilization on this land,
Which came with the long rifle,
The mustang, and the painted horse,
And the long wagon trains,
The Conestoga wagons, at the rear,
Walked the belled Guernsey,
That rambled across unforged streams,
Whose wheels carried seeds,
Unknown to the native land,
And today, the offspring,
Have overtaken, the land,
And filling the roadside with,
White and yellow flowers,
Which few have come to understand.

Through the eyes of Black Elk,
And the other elders,
At council they do gather,
I see the White Buffalo,
And I hear him in his Lakota tongue,
Speak as I fly across this land,
Under the great wings of,
The mighty Eagles' span,
And I hear the prairie chicken,
In the native grass below,
We circle in grace before we land,
My soul is at peace,
My spirit is released,
To join in this ride,
Upon the back of the White Buffalo,
Across the ancient prairie of this land,
And to ride where,
The White Bison goes. 

 

It’s not the ride,

Nor  miles of desert,

That we travel to survive,

It’s my companions walking by my side,

And that Jackalope that darts from behind a cacti,

Aim of a rifle by my side,

Becomes a meal for my partner dog and I,

With heavens stars across night sky,  

The blanket of comfort we have tonight,

Planning the next days’ course,

Miles to travel across this divide,

For comfort when we reach that tide,

Of aspens there up in the tree line,

A cabin by a stream, we will survive,

This is the traverse we carry as we ride,

Up to the aspens there so high.   ©

MY EYES HAVE SEEN WYOMING ©

 My eyes have seen Wyoming,
And the hills that run thru it,
Buffalo the bison, Buffalo the town,
Cody stood so abound, bison hang around,
Hills out on the range, with Antelope to graze,
Antlers as radar antenna, scanning the heavens,
Sunlight refracts from an eye, a rainbow shoots,
High above Wyoming sky,  and then,
Devils Tower, high above the wild grass plain,
Stands guard over this a vast range,
Amber is the grains, that wave,
Eyes must catch it while the Eagle flies,
High aloft, with the hills around,
I have traveled this land,
Across Wyoming’s high country sky.©

COWBOYS NEVER DIE

 

 

Cowboys never die,
For they gather,
At the end of January every year,
There they do go to ELKO,
Snowbound travelers',
Walking frozen Idaho street,
All together in song
Singing in coyote harmony,
To Riders in the Sky,
With dreams of being,
Celloid Cowboy Stars,
Up on the big screen,
And not, pulling calves,
On a Sunday eve,
Nor fixing some gate,
That a bull charged thru,
Nor blowing a tire on a dirt road,
Forty miles from town,
With supplies for the next month,
Oh, Riders, Sing to us this night,
We will be in our lament,
Cowboys up on the screen,
Where all are the star,
Shooting across Nevada's Sky,
As if it was the Fourth of July...©

STARS FLICKER, OUR FLIGHT

Stars flicker thru the high loft of clouds, 

©   

Beckon us onward, as this is our journey,
Across plains we have traveled,
From far distant shores,
We emigrants to a new land,
Far from Erin’s mighty shore,
Sailors of water, as we sailors of land,
With gusts of wind at every command,
Point our schooners tongue to the Northern Star,
Which we spot, with effort   this night. 

With banjos and fiddles,

Our few musicians  gather,

A reel or a jig, the children’s laughter,

We see, thru the nights light,

Ensure us that hope is forever Spring,

We fall to the demand of sleep,

And await the first call of morning light,

To travel westward, to a new home,

This is the demand our flight…

Spindletop to Kerr-Magee

Spindletop to Kerr-Magee

©
They were tall wooden structures,
Reaching upward for the sky,
There upon a small hill,
Called sacred by the Indians,
On the banks of the Neches River,
Sweating young men standing,
Wrapped in torn clothes,
Drillers dropping pipes into the depths,
Never gone before.


And along came the music,
Pipeliner blues, Moon Mullins,
Later Big Bopper and George Jones,
Walked the downtown streets,
A time that changed everything,
Import of young Nederland workers,
To work in the refineries,
That blossomed like steeples,
There along the Neches and Lake Sabine,


And, one day Cher drove across Rainbow Bridge,
Raising the window, the odor unacceptable,
In that film of Karen Silkwood,
A Port Arthur girl,
As warm as Janice Joplin and Mary Karr,
Moved to Kerr Oklahoma,
For work in Nuclear Technology,
As how so much are connected,
From Spindletop's first blow.

Spring is Returning

Mid winter is upon us,

©

 Wolf Moon has rose in the night sky,
Clear visions of stars stand bright,
Promises are to come,
As February moves upon us,
March winds will come,
Bringing Spring upon us,
And the ancient druids are proud,
They stood at Stonehenge and counted,
Movement of the sun, its light spread about,
Welcome slowly the return of light.

WOLF MOON

 

 

 

I saw you, oh majestic Wolf Moon,
Full as a saucer of white light,
Shining thru the windows this night,
I hear your companions in the forest,
Wolf Clan gathering in song,
In solitude one stands outside my door,
I hear it's call,
I know not what it wants,
For I am absence of food,
And only a remembrance of fire in this cabin,
Oh Wolf Moon, you light shines bright,
I hear the Wolf Clan's call.~~~