Whilst a-scoutin' the badlands in back of my mind,
For to gather some mem'ries I once left behind,
I rode up on an evenin', just shy of the herd,
That was nearly as clear as the time it occurred...
It was Sunday at dusk, on an August fourteenth,
An' was one of them days that took all of your strength.
I was out on a bluff, overlookin' a draw,
Just surveyin' the lay of the valley I saw.
I'd been ponderin' the war for some five-or-so years,
An' a-spendin' my time just a-fightin' old fears.
Comin' back to the ranch an' the ways I'd been taught
Hadn't helped very much in the battles I fought.
So I prayed for the Maker to take me away,
Or just give me good reason for why I should stay;
An' then stepped to the rim of that hundred-foot ledge,
Til the toes of my boots were out over the edge.
Then I lifted my head an' let wander my eye,
An' caught sight of the light of a star in the sky.
From the dark an' unknown it kept pullin' at me,
Like a siren who lures from an island at sea.
I'd a-cut me a trail to that yonder frontier
To be shed of the troubles corrallin' me here.
I'd been thrown by the problems that livin' had shown,
To the point that the scars seemed to go to the bone.
So, I gave her the reins an' the next thing I knew
I'as inside of a tunnel, an' shootin' straight through.
There was hundreds of colors a-swirlin' around
In the rumblin' roar of a thunderous sound.
I
was mighty uneasy an' awful perplexed
But I wanted to see what was happenin' next.
By the time I got braced for a ride in the night,
I'as already a-stoppin' in front of the light.
Now, the light was a grid stretchin' plumb out of view.
It had bright glowin' beams in a pale-lookin' blue.
I saw stars goin' in an' some others come out,
An' some modules a-twinklin' an' floatin' about.
Well, I thought I'as okay an' saw nothin' to fear
An' just ambled on up till I'as gettin' right near,
When this feller in black come an' lead me away,
To a place he'd been keepin' for visitors to stay.
He'as a wise lookin' hombre, a preacher I guessed,
With a long grayin' beard goin' down to his chest.
He had fine leather boots that went up to his knees,
An' he offered a seat with a kind, "If ya please."
Then I felt 'im a-reachin' right into my mind,
An' was bothered a mite as to just what he'd find;
But his reachin' came easy with things that he said,
He just didn't use words to put this in my head.
"You can listen to those who got answers to give
An' can answer to those who make laws how to live,
But they won't ever know all your feelin's an' needs,
An'll bore you to tears with their proverbs an' creeds.
"When the Lord was a-riggin' your body for Earth,
He was aimin' you'd use it for all it was worth;
For the solvin' of problems, for workin' your spread
An' for buildin' endurance for what lies ahead.
"When the goin' gets tough an' your spirits are low,
An' the end of your rope is beginnin' to show;
It's like loosin' your nerve on some broncy ol' horse,
Where your loose in the saddle an' lopin' off course.
"Well, your chances for ridin's the luck of the draw;
He might throw you a windin' an' scrape you plumb raw.
It's the scars that you get that'll toughen your hide,
An' just one of the reasons for why you should ride.
"Oh, the ride'll get wild, if you're ridin' for long,
An' you're new to the ways of the trail that you're on.
Try to figger 'em out an' to lighten your load,
It might shorten the time that your butt's on the road.
"Now there's trails headin' out, if your runnin' away,
But you cain't learn a thing if you ain't gonna stay.
Ever day that you live got some lessons to learn;
There are things to improve as you round ever turn.
"Just remember that change is a-comin' your way,
Like the sun in the sky, it will come ever day.
You can fight it, embrace it, ignore it or not;
But it'll make ya or break ya, an' you decide what.
"Oh, there's ways to endure what the Lord has in mind,
If you open your eyes to the ways that you find.
They're like wages you earn; don't seem much at first glance,
But they'll carry you far if you give 'em a chance.
"Aw, we're childern of God, an' we grow in His care,
An' the strength that we need for our lives'll be there,
Cause it's just like His grace, how it comes ever day,
If you work an' attend to the things in our way."
In a shot I was back at the top of the draw
An' was mighty confused by the things that I saw;
But I slept through the night in a still, quiet calm,
For the first time in years, since I left Viet Nam.
Now that time's told the tale an' I've grown from the hell,
An' a many a bronc's had a piece of my tail;
They have toughened my hide, made me stronger inside,
So I reckon the Maker allows I should ride.
