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Cowboy Poetry and Western Verse
Soledad Canyon
John Duncklee
Past the jungle of rich mens' castles
The canyon's mouth opens to the mountain's soul
Canyon walls covered with grasses
Some shrubs here and there
A place apart
A place to share
A place about which to wonder
The old windmill sucking air
Empty tank
Empty trough
Empty corral half torn away
Sad yet happy with the wind
Stoic in the sun
Strong against the snow
Receptive to the rain
The stream at times
The sound of its life
Sublime muted by the wind yet there
Once herds driven from the slopes
Cowboys, fat cattle, slick horses
Hungry buzzards without a meal
The scolds and hoofbeats
Riatas singing
Hats shading eyes
Chaparreras guarding legs
Steel shoes clinking on rocks
Sweat
Bawling calves and sorrowful mothers
Robbed each year
A tough way of life
Yet fulfilling for its toil
Beautiful for its place
Gone are the cowboys
Gone are the cattle
Gone are the yells
Gone is the singing rawhide
Rutted road to the other side
Still there
No more wagons drawn by teams
No more loads of groceries and salt
Soledad means loneliness or isolated place
But one cannot be lonely there
Unless one is lonely with oneself
Soledad is at peace.
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