Far From Home

It’s far from home I ride,

I’m a stranger here and

Like many others before me,

I see the mountains

when I close my eyes

And I open them again,

to prairie and cactus

and wonder if I am a traitor

to that green land

It raised me, it kept me and

from it I fled

All the way here, to a morning

with the bite of fall in the air

I drop my reins

and look back, feeling the

start of love for this stark place

Black cattle dotted over

the yellow grass, bunched

together by the rider behind

Finding the trail, which they know

far better than I

A section of ground, folded into

high top pasture and plunging holes

There’s some pine trees to do

me comfort and remind me of

a far away home, but as I wait

letting the pairs pass me on their way

their heels clicking and tails working

I feel as much as hear or see

my partner coming up beside me

and know I am already there