Bruce Kiskaddon
Rhoda Sivell
Doug Richards
Badger Clark
Glen Rafuse
Bruce Kiskaddon
Hartley Urquhart
Mike Puhallo
Bryn Thiessen
Phyllis Rathwell
Robert W. Service
Harold Webber
Bryn Thiessen
Bruce Kiskaddon
Sherrill Forsyth
Pete Perrin
Doris Bircham
Wendy Vaughan
Sherm Ewing
Doug Richards
Phyllis Rathwell
Henry Herbert Knibbs
Bryan J. Smith
Fred Miller
Frank Gleeson
Doris Bircham
Frank Gleeson
Doris Daley
Jace Richarde
Neil Meili
Lesley Stuart-Smith
James Barton Adams
Terri Mason
Barbara Robin
Diamond Doug Keith
Merv Webster
Mereline Griffith
Reg Kesler

Cowboy Poetry

Oct-Nov 2003

The first issue of Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine (March 1997) included a poem I had written called Reg Kesler's Hat. In mid July this year while performing at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Stavely AB, I was approached by Reg's daughter Jeanne. She requested that I include that poem in my performance and sign her copy, which I was happy to do. We had a chance to chat a little and she showed me quite a few of her father's poems as well as her own. This was certainly a side of Reg Kesler I had never seen before. He was a very talented poet (as is his daughter Jeanne.) Here is a touching poem written by Reg for Bob Duce.

To A Friend (Bob Duce)

As you travel along life's pathway
May the range land all be green,
and the broncs out in the pasture
Be the best you've ever seen.

May your riggin be a good one
And fit each horse just right
And your spurs keep on jingling
As they did the other night.

May you ride with your head uplifted
And your spurs hooked in the mane
Till the sands of time have sifted
And we're all back home again.

When the last round-up is over
And the range boss says, I'm through
You can spend your days in clover
May I pass mine there with you.

This one was sent in by Kathy Horn of Virden, MB. She has been doing some poetry for about eight years and generally writes about old family stories and day-to-day life of their equine operation.

You Know You¹re A Ranch Wife When

You know you're a ranch wife when it changed your life
The moment you decided to be his wife.
Your priorities are far different than they were before
Dresses and heels are no longer wore.

You know you're a ranch wife when you go to buy shoes
And you pick the tall rubbers for mud and goo.
Your shirts turn from silk to tough denim for sure,
'Cause silk won't make it through brush and burrs.

You know you're a ranch wife by your kitchen window sill,
No fancy ornaments, only needles, medicine and a stray horse pill. It
becomes a challenge just to walk in the door, There's a collection of shoes and even a saddle on floor.

You know when you're a ranch wife when to prepare a meal,
The counter's covered with odds and ends and a spare boot heel. The
meal's prepared but will have to wait, Something's gone wrong and
chores are late.

You know you're a ranch wife when you get a thrill,
Watching a foal born from a distant hill
And the thrill you get from your kids' first ride,
Sharing their accomplishment and their pride.

You know you're a ranch wife when you're proud to say,
I wouldn't raise kids any other way.
Lots of fresh air with room to grow,
There's no better life in the world I know.

 
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