A Cowboy can't cry

Loss

The cattle are hidden in
a thicket, along a flint hill’s gully,
and the rain rolls across the Kansas night,
thunder pumping, rolling
deep, throaty, hollow bellows.

Gods breathe and clouds slap.
Rocks and roots charge through
the narrows ripping at the
thickets.

Thunder’s rolling rhythm broken by
the calves panicked screams,
flashing, the flood quenches the
Kansas night.


Undercut or buried, the cattle are gone.
The distance carries their breath away.
The moon’s midnight watch echoes the
bawling calves.

And a cowboy can’t cry.
cold are the tears in morning coffee.

L.V.C.

Author's Note

Save it for the early hours after a rain

Reviews

[David Scott]

I can see the tears evaporating, uncried from the skyblue eyes. I can hear the cry that will never escape his throat in the questioning panic of the cattle.
I can feel the electric static of emotion held in the thin threads of a plaid flannel shirt. His solitude the only salvation from sparking into an inferno.

[J.V. Stanley]

For class I've been reading Native American literature and early colonial literature. As I've read some of the work, I couldn't help but remember the movie 'Dances With Wolves' and my mind jumping from that storyline into others. Reading the recollections of John Smith and the other early European explorers, it made me wonder, quite often how life must have been like for the early cowboys.

...and then I'm reminded of Texas and New Mexico, driving through the hills and valleys, swimming in Elephant Butte and how gorgeous the sunsets are. I remember the dry warmth kissing my face in bronze and the unmistakable color of the deserts. A life of a cowboy can only be imagined by a Yooper girl such as myself but what a beautiful portrait you paint with your words.

I've only driven through Kansas, but I can see the beauty and am reminded of the drive. (Cross-country road trip to pick up my fiance for homecoming when he returned from Afghanistan. Upper Peninsula of MI to El Paso...the first of many future adventures I imagine I'll have). My only regret on that trek is not staying a bit longer in Kansas...

...and that ticket I received for speeding.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem.

[Astro]

Another well expressed and described scene. I especially, enjoyed the reading of this line, "The distance carries their breath away." It can be taken literally, but has great undertones of the nature of 'distance' as well. Those coffee tears are so cold, their frozen! Well done.

[icelandicblue]

I'm a city girl but I felt the power that nature has to offer in your poem. You really did a masterful job in this poem. Sounds like cowboys have no time to cry.

[Sami Khalil]

"The distance carries their breath away.
The moon’s midnight watch echoes the
bawling calves.

And a cowboy can’t cry.
cold are the tears in morning coffee."
Wow . I just saw this write. Awesome . I did not know you are a cowboy too ... Pen on...:)

[lee von cleef]

Boots N Horses too...

[Sami Khalil]

Hahaha... I hope Arabian and leather boots...Lol

[quinfinn]

i couldn't do that for a living. hate to see animals suffer so i am willing to bet that cowboys find alternatives to their tears. this is a convincing write, well done.

[lee von cleef]

Than you, got to appreciate the ones that left the tracks for us to follow, hope they arn't lemmings.

[Michael G. Smith]

Cold tears are in the morning coffee, great line.

[Michael G. Smith]

Second to last stanza my favorite.

[Colt 45 & 9/16]

Noo cowboys can't cry!! But I damn near did!! This made think of a relative feeling of loss beyond the cowboys situation. Cool stuff. Thank you!

[Shellie]

Straight away I thought of my favourite film... The Horse whisperer. I know this is about cattle but it was the essence of the piece... especially the imagery and the emotion. Its good, I like it.

[lee von cleef]

Hard to whisper to a thousand pound horse stepping on your toe, thank you for stopping bye.