The old man loves his westerns,
In his books, or on TV —
He dreams of being on the range,
The horses running free
Within the confines of his room,
The world is opened wide:
Whatever he may look like, he’s
A hero deep inside
And what to you is corny, or
To me might be banal –
He sees in it nobility,
Outside the old corral
We know it’s not reality,
But there has been a cost
That’s come since heroes ruled the day
And villains always lost
He’s just a man who you may pass
Or you may even know:
Who wishes life was right and fair
But cannot make it so
And so he reads his westerns, and
He tumbles off to sleep:
And sees a world of promises
That good men always
Keep
To share is human:
My dad read every western ever written. Most honest man I ever knew.
Mine, too.
Thank you for bringing this piece of my dad, long gone with his spirit, back to me tonight. I needed that.
I love this especially “promises that good men keep”.
I sometimes think it’s all we men really have.
That one winter when the kids and I had no boots for trudging to the library, I borrowed a box of books from my cousin. She was no reader — they were her ex-husband’s books. About 12 Louis L’Amour westerns and 1 KJV bible. I’ve liked cowboys (and God) ever since.
This here is going in my new blog bookmark folder.
I’m especially fond of it as the wife of one who (inexplicably? before now) loves Westerns.