From Keep on Moving Forward

 Get Me Over You 

Since you left I tried it all
Thinking maybe soon you’d call
To say it’s all a big mistake,
The kind that lovers often make
That caused my weary heart to break

I tried running from the pain,
I tried standing in the rain
I took a pill or two,
But there was nothing I could do
That would get me over you

Just to get me through the day
I tried to think of things to say,
Put a little hurt on you,
Make you see my point of view
And help to get me over you

I tried meeting some new friends
But found mostly just dead ends,
Tried painting up the town
But it only brought me down
Low as anybody’s clown

Swore today I’d give it up
Drinking from this broken cup,
Need a hand to pull me through,
Get a start on something new,
Help to get me over you

Just to get me through the day
I tried to think of things to say,
Put a little hurt on you,
Make you see my point of view,
And help to get me over you

Houston Queen 

Gracious little daisy, got my mind a little hazy,
Think the time has come for writing you a song,
You’re the steady hand between us and a little touch of Venus,
And I’ve got to put you up where you belong

After our initial sessions I had singular impressions
Of the service you could render with a smile,
You could lay me or delay me but you know you always slay me
Any time you come within a country mile

Houston queen, a sailor’s dream
As much as my poor beat up heart can take,
Houston queen, don’t be mean
Here’s one more round to you for old time sake

You’re a candle in the darkness and a smooth edge on the sharpness
Of a pain that seems to linger every day,
When you hold me in clutches, babe, it’s almost just as much as
If you knew the very words I was going to say

And when I try to keep you guessing, pretty soon I start obsessing
Over trifles, tricks, and trivialities
Like what I might have said last time with you erasing every line
Between the sane and crazy times like these

Houston queen, it’s clearly seen
You’re the genuine thing in a batch of fakes
Houston queen, I’m coming clean,
You rank among my very best mistakes

And then in another episode we saw the whole dessert explode
And ended up with sugar in the face,
Licked it off and drank it down, another C-note on the town
Pretending we were strangers in the place

Just one more before I close my tab here at the Dusty Rose,
By God the road can really wear you down,
But we don’t worry much these days, still get around the usual ways,
Pretend out homeward paths are heaven bound

Houston queen, you precious thing,
I’d like to be here when your heart awakes
Houston queen, don’t be mean
Here’s one more round to you for old time sake

Love to the Nth Degree 

We were thinking we might move to Europe
For all the crap that’s happening these days
There or somewhere else, like Costa Rica
She wondered if it might just be a phase

Where is less important
Than the fact that you are with me
This I told her over and again

We’ve got the best thing going
That you’re ever going to see
Darling, love to the Nth degree

Then we thought she might move in close by my place
Right next door or maybe down the street
Have our own space, still be close together
Enough to make our days and nights complete

She got kind of frazzled
Over leaps and turns I’m taking
But never really said where she was at 

I just kept on thinking
How she was it for me
And we had love to the Nth degree
                   Love to the Nth
                   Love to the Nth
                   Love to the Nth degree

I was dreaming dreams like this was heaven
Believing what it seemed like was the truth
Reveling in touch of warm affection
As much as I had ever chanced to do

I don’t know what then happened
But it wasn’t nothing good
And she no more was seen
In the neighborhood

I guess some cross-eyed devil
Got in, made a mess of me
But we had love to the Nth degree
                 Love to the Nth
                 Love to the Nth
                 love to the Nth degree

Daisy Circles 

She and I were close as trouble,
Always on our edges,
Alternating barks and bites
With sweet romantic pledges

We did not lack respect
For our familiar in the other,
But put our own felt needs
Ahead of pleasing one another

Mine was being my own self
Without recriminations,
Hers was being in control
Without you asking questions

That’s a touchy combination,
And it don’t take long to blow,
But then we pick up pieces
As around and round we go

Around in crazy, daisy circles
Faces to the sun,
First the shove, then a tickle,
Onward now we run

Many years now since I met her
Worked out like it should have,
I never jumped full in the fire
But would have if I could have

Yet here we are still close as trouble
Talking on the phone
Smoothing off the friction points
And staying in our zone

Don’t know when I’ll ever see her,
Not sure if it matters,
She will still be with me
If I can’t again look at her 

Deep desire mellows out
To something deep as oceans,
She’s the break of gentle waves
Of humbling emotion

Around in crazy, daisy circles
Faces to the sun,
First the shove and then a tickle
Onward how we run

Keep on Moving Forward 

What’s the use of living in the past again?
Yesterday is just a stretch of road back where I’ve been,
And it ain’t where I’m heading, no,
Best thing to do’s just let it go
And get on down the road to where the sun shines in

Things didn’t always work out just the way I planned,
Sometimes some unkind fate just took the upper hand,
Disappointments of the past were never meant to last
Any longer than a ripple in the shifting sand

Who I’ve been is not what I’m becoming,
Can’t march backward while my heart’s still drumming,
Following my fortune underneath the sky,
Keep on moving forward till the day I die,
Keep on moving forward till the day I die

It’s a whole new game on down the road tomorrow,
Whether it bring happiness or sorrow,
Wherever it may lead, I’ll be making all due speed,
Without any need to beg, steal, or borrow

Who I’ve been is not what I’m becoming,
Can’t march backward while my heart’s still drumming,
Following my fortune underneath the sky,
Keep on moving forward till the day I die,
Keep on moving forward till the day I die

Must Have Known It All Along 

I went out with friends just the other night
To have us a beer or two,
We were having fun just tossing darts
When the subject turned to you

Ned said, man, I guess you understand
Your baby’s stepping out on you,
I said, what the hell you mean by that,
But then it turns out that it’s true

So now I ask you plain out straight
Have you been doing me wrong
I think I know the answer
And must have known it all along

So now I’m caught between the thought
That I’ve been playing your fool
And a beat up heart that broke apart
From you taking me to school

A sadder man but a wiser one,
Can’t say I’m too surprised,
I couldn’t see the devil
For the angel in your eyes

So now I ask you plain out straight
Have you been doing me wrong
I think I know the answer
And must have known it all along

You had me in your pocket
Back when you were saying it was only me,
But now I guess you’re messing around
With another two or three

Don’t try to hide your cheating heart
If you’ve been on a spree
Just get down to where the truth is at
And tell it all to me

Now I ask you plain out straight
Have you been doing me wrong?
I think I know the answer,
I must have know it all along

When You’re So Far Away

Hello baby, how’s it going?
I hope all there are well
I’m desolate without you,
A little buzzed, if you can’t tell
How am I doing? Thanks for asking,
Getting through the day,
Is about the best that I can do
when you’re so far away

I thought that I might get along
without much missing you,
For only just this week or so,
But already it seems like two
I tell myself this too will pass
Into a brighter day,
But the minutes seem like hours now
When you’re so far away

I know you’re having lots of fun
With all the family,
Thank you for your call
And taking time to think of me,
All back here is well and good,
Yeah, really fine, I’d say,
At least the best that it can be
When you’re so far away

Come Monday night I’ll meet your flight
And see you safe back home,
Get back in the swing of things,
To where we’re coming from
Till then I’ll keep the home fires lit
And miss you night and day,
Can’t seem to get away from that
When you’re so far away

I know you’re having lots of fun
With all the family,
Thank you for your call
And taking time to think of me,
All back here is well and good,
Yeah, really fine, I’d say,
At least the best that it can be
When you’re so far away

In My Time of Doubt and Sorrow 

In my time of doubt and sorrow,
Let me see the light
That shines above the darkened clouds,
Just beyond my sight

Let me know the path to walk
To be who I must be,
Lift the vail of blindness from my eyes
And let me see 

Shine your healing light upon my soul
Till every touch of shadow disappears,
Ease the burden of my worried mind,
Release me from the bondage of my fears

Cool the fires of anger
When they burn hot in me,
The wrongful things I can’t control,
Please whisper, let them be

Let me in my loneliness
Understand I’m not alone,
When I’m underneath the pain,
Remind me that I’ve grown

Enough to see it through with grace,
Keep a smile on my face,
Rise above my smaller self
And get back in the race

Shine your healing light upon my soul
Till every touch of shadow disappears,
Ease the burden of my worried mind,
Release me from the bondage of my fears

In my time of doubt and sorrow,
Let me see the light

The You I Knew 

The you I knew was kind and true
And seemed to understand me
Easy on the mental stress
In all ways fine and dandy

But where she’s gone, if this is you,
I wish you would just tell me
Which one is the face more true,
I guess they might just both be

Anyway I have to say
The you I knew was something
Always there to lend a care
And make magic out of nothing

I felt so very good at times
My cup still runneth over,
Remembering when you were mine
And we slept in the clover

As tables turn, you live and learn
Dear, what’s become of you
A switch was flipped, a corner turned
And gone was the you I knew

The you I knew was close and warm
As shelter in a blanket,
Intimate in angel form,
In gesture open-handed

Tell me, will you, where she went
And what she left behind her,
I felt like she was heaven sent
And now I’ve gotta find her 

It’s like some kind of limbo,
No advancing or retreat,
Just the kind of loss you fear
When running toward the heat 

So let me say just once for all
I wish that dream were true,
And the one who answers when I call
Would be the you I knew 

As tables turn, you live and learn
Dear, what’s become of you,
A switch was flipped, a corner turned
And gone was the you I knew

Traces Left of You 

There was a time, not long ago
When love found you and me,
Rolling easy with the flow,
In steady company

I fell a little fast and hard
In love with you, it’s true,
The way it felt was like a dream
Come true when it was new

The trouble with defenses
Is they hide your heart away
When something real comes knocking then,
It won’t come out to play

What we call reality
Is just another dream,
Where what we think, wish, and believe
Tells us what we see

You’re a spirit in the air
And in the colors of the leaves,
You’re the vestige in my chest
Of the love we knew

It wasn’t what I thought it was,
But mostly it was good,
And these are my only traces
Left of you

No longer keeping company,
Just trying to make some sense
Of the loss and painful memory
And love’s significance

It’s in the air and in the trees
And in your consciousness,
The bird has flown, but still the song
Echoes on in sweetness

You’re a spirit in the air
And in the colors of the leaves,
You’re the vestige in my chest
Of the love we knew

It wasn’t what I thought it was
But mostly it was good,
And these my only traces
Left of you

What Was I to You?

I’m trying not to call you
Since you dumped me yesterday,
Not to be accused of stalking
Better stay out of the way

I know you’ve got your reasons
Yeah, and I can’t say you’re wrong,
I thought we’d last the seasons,
Now I see that that was wrong,
I see that that was wrong

So how can I get over you
Cold turkey, on the run
Prob’ly take a long, long time
Before this deal is done

And how are you in all this mess?
You don’t seem too intense
So pretty well, I have to guess
You always had good sense,
Balance and good sense

Play it like you mean it, babe
And won’t you tell me true,
What I’ve got, you’ve seen it,
Tell me what was I to you?
Darling, what was I to you? 

I did not see this coming, babe
Or maybe yet I did,
When you were my old lady,
And I your wayward kid

As bad as bad could ever be,
Or so to you it seems,
Little bird, go fly on free
Or resurrect our dreams
Wish you would resurrect our dreams

Play it like you mean it, babe
And won’t you tell me true,
What I’ve got, you’ve seen it,
Tell me what was I to you?
Baby, what was I to you?

The nectar and the honey
Don’t appear without the cost
In sweat, and pain, and money
And the feeling that you’ve lost

I can’t be you but as for me
I love you heart and soul
And always felt like we might be
Like two halves of a whole
Two halves of a whole

Play it like you mean it, babe
And won’t you tell me true,
What I’ve got, you’ve seen it, babe
What was I to you?
Ah, what was I to you?

Santa Fe River 

Santa Fe River,
Coming down like diamonds
Off the mountain,
Through the ancient town
That shares the name

Through the valley all the way
Into the Rio Grande,
Old territories once of Kings of Spain,
There you fill your jug and pray for rain 

Upstream stone-lined acequias
Fan water to the fields,
Down Palace
From up on the Cerro Gordo

Up there’s a little chapel
On the hillside,
Dates back from a very long time ago,
A long time ago 

The river almost as it is
Was life to them back then,
The way it is to
Lots of folks today

Down the hill, keeps splashing on,
Forever as before,
I guess I just don’t know much more to say,
And had better get myself out of the way

Only that it’s running through me
Like a silver thread,
Stitching up the pieces
Of my life

As we flow on down the seasons,
Carrying the seeds,
And moving ever closer to the light,
Moving ever closer to the light

Santa Fe River
Coming down like diamonds
Off the mountain
Through the ancient town
hat shares the name,
Santa Fe River 

From Moonlight Vision

Fallout of the Storm

I saw a flash of distant lightning
Through the mist of drizzling rain,
Felt a wave of rolling thunder
Blowing like a wind of change

Looks like there’s a storm a-coming,
Soon to hold us in its sway,
Thunderclaps like giants drumming,
Rains to wash our sins away

Dogs are barking, geese are flying,
Words are freezing in my mouth,
Got to get through, keep on trying,
This whole world is heading south

Some lie calm and some come crying,
Some sit paralyzed with doubt,
Some in vanity, denying
What their lives are all about

Lord have mercy, see us through the
Long night till the morning comes,
Then we’ll see what falls or stands true
In the fallout of the storm

I felt the power of the cyclone
Moving like a speeding train,
Saw the path of its destruction,
Torn across the southern plain,

Lost the keys to my own kingdom,
Just these hands and heart remain,
Spanish boots pulled from the bedroom,
All the rest went down the drain

Right then when your dreams seem shattered,
As if all you do must fail,
Pieces of your fortune scattered
Pulled together, still prevail

So if you lose all that you’ve gathered,
Take heart in this simple tale,
Keeping on is all that matters,
Keep your footsteps on the trail

Lord have mercy, see us through the
Long night till the morning comes,
Then we’ll see what falls or stands true,In the fallout of the storm

Nothing Don’t Add Up to Much

I cut across your lines of vision,
Tiptoe through your streaks of doubt,
Wait out your endless indecision,
To make a deal or do without,
Make a deal or do without

Violate the usual dogma,
Penetrate the shadow realm,
Taste a smoldering aroma,
Climb aboard to take the helm,
Climb aboard to take the helm

Something’s weighing on me heavy,
Hand me down my broken crutch,
Count to five and plug the levee,
Nothing don’t add up to much,
No, nothing don’t add up to much

I cast aside all thought of glory,
Raise the flag of freedoms lost,
Tell a sad, beguiling story,
Count the overwhelming cost,
Count the overwhelming cost 

Clash or not as fate determines,
Cash in my last chips to go,
Laugh at jokes, recite a sermon,
Tell you all there is to know,
Tell you all there is to know 

Something’s weighing on me heavy,
Hand me down my broken crutch,
Count to five and plug the levee,
Nothing don’t add up to much,
No, nothing don’t add up to much

Come to Me at Midnight

I’ve been living with a bad rap
Since Adam took a bite,
And fell in shame from Garden grace
Like day into the night

I surely earned my flatted third
Note on the herald horn,
So at your peril mock my words
Or speak my name with scorn

Fools who claim to know the ways
Of mysteries dark and light
Would come much closer to the mark
If they aimed with a child’s delight

The way they rattle on and on
Is such a travesty,
As if marks with a crayon
Could reveal moonlight’s majesty
                                                                                                                                    So, Come to me at midnight
When I hold my office hour,
And right here in the silver light
You’ll feel my pulsing power

For some it’s proven fatal,
For many, no return,
But if you’d like to test your mettle,
Step right up and feel the burn

To leave here tried and tempered true,
With secrets few can learn,
Don’t bring your useless bags with you
Or for your crutches yearn

Just come to me at midnight,
When I hold my office hour,
And right there in the silver light
You’ll feel my pulsing power

Desert Roadhouse Blues

Far beneath the purple mountain
Where the sagebrush grows so high,
By a roadside in the desert
‘Neath the Arizona sky

Sits an old barn of a roadhouse,
Red paint cracking in the sun,
A cool dark place to get a beer
And let your horses run 

Jukebox in the corner,
Sawdust on your shoes,
Amplifiers ringing out
The desert roadhouse blues

Tall lean cowboys, lovely babes
Glide laughing across the floor,
A heavyweight named Pedro’s
Checking i.d.’s at the door 

Commotion sets in motion
When the music starts to swirl,
Two white hats in the corner
Start to fighting for a girl

Their high hopes and intentions
At least one of them must lose
And go home broke and lonely
With the desert roadhouse blues

When the singer plays the lovesick blues,
He knows whereof he sings,
He’s got a line of beauties
Forming up to have a fling

Commitment don’t come easy
To that music gypsy kind,
As soon as one is out the door,
He’s with the next in line 

The only one he really loved
Said time had come to choose,
Her and a righteous way of life
Or the desert roadhouse blues,
He chose the blues

I can see that place in my mind’s eye
From a thousand miles away,
Remember what went down
As if it happened yesterday 

The city swallowed up that place
And a mall went in next door,
They went and modernized the building
And put in all new décor 

From where I sit that old dancehall
Was a hard old place to lose,
And thinking of it leaves me here
With the desert roadhouse blues

Far beneath the purple mountain
Where the sagebrush grows so high
On a roadside in the desert
‘Neath the Arizona sky,

Sits an old barn of a roadhouse,
Red paint cracking in the sun,
A cool dark place to get a beer
And let your horses run

Jukebox in the corner,
Sawdust on your shoes,
Amplifiers ringing out
The desert roadhouse blues

Spirit in the Wind

I hope you met your loved ones and the master,
Like we talked about when you were called away,
And I hope the gates of heaven opened wide
To welcome you and speed you on your way

Things are pretty much the same as when you left us,
But for the empty place where you would have been,
When the evening shadows fall around us,
I hear you like a spirit in the wind,
Yes, I hear you like a spirit in the wind 

I hope that all the life and love within you
Passed with you on that trail you walked alone,
And that they lift you high as any angel
Has any expectation to have flown 

Do you look from up above down on us,
Or walk the road beside us like a friend?
I swear that when the shadows fall around us,
I hear you like a spirit in the wind,
Yes, I hear you like a spirit in the wind

Hard as I try, I can’t make the connection
To whatever lies beyond these mortal bounds,
And I must be patient to receive the answer
Till this old world has turned a few more rounds

But I’ll see you in the eyes of my children
Till time comes for my earthly cares to end,
Then perhaps you’ll be my guide in heaven,
And we’ll be kindred spirits in the wind,
Yes, we’ll be kindred spirits in the wind

I hear you like a spirit in the wind,
Yes, I hear you like a spirit in the wind

You Will Always Be a Part of Me

One night I had a dream
In which I saw your face so clearly
It was as if you stood in front of me,
To tell me everything’s all right
And you still love me dearly,
And you will always be a part of me

All the places where we went
And all the things we did together
Now come ringing back in a memory,
All the precious things
And tender moments that I treasure,
Like you, will always be a part of me

I’m always thinking of you now,
Wherever you may be,
And you will always be a part of me

You were like a desert sunset
Blazing in the sky,
As perfectly yourself as you could be,
But a burst of light
Soon turns to shadow,
Fades before your eyes,
And you will always be a part of me

The consolation that I take now
Since you took that long ride,
A comfort to me now
In a time of need,
Is if I no longer have you here,
At least you’re deep inside,
And you will always be a part of me

I’m always thinking of you now,
Wherever you may be,
And you will always be a part of me

O Moonlight Vision

The lesser light still rules the night
With silver creeping grace,
As hands of time play pantomime
With visions of your face, 

Shadows fill the distant hills
With sinuous designs,
That sway and leap where reasons sleep
And mind regimes resign

Then to me you come so free
As a vision in a dream,
Speaking words I’ve never heard
And can’t tell what they mean

I can’t make out what it’s about
But feel your breath on me,
As vagrant winds that stir again
Remind me that you’re free

Please stay with me awhile
O moonlight vision,
I’ll be lonesome come the light of day

Won’t you ease me through
This hard transition
I’m going through now
Since you went away?

Blooms upon the rose of dawn
Chase shadows from the field,
The midnight band melts in the sand,
And shadow armies yield

The ones we trust must turn to dust
And return to the sky
To walk in light across the night,
But love will never die 

Please stay with me awhile
O moonlight vision,
I’ll be lonesome come the light of day,

Won’t you ease me through
This hard transition
I’m going through now
Since you went away?

Solo Girl, Messed Up World

Take me if you can, or if you will,
Moonlight full upon you, fit to kill,
Like a blossom on clear water
Shines a smiling devil’s daughter
In the rising hour
Of midnight’s autumn chill

Save me from the boredom and the strife
Of a goal-conflicted, lone, and ornery life,
And lead me to the greatness,
In all truthfulness and straightness
Of the core of what it means to be alive

You’re way on down the road of life, successfully,
On your own, bright shining as a pearl,
But for the heart’s insistence, you’re a solo girl,
Come on or keep your distance,
It’s a messed up world

Keep your business arm’s length if you must,
It’s hard to know in this world who to trust,
The butcher or the baker, or the smiling undertaker,
Or the guy who rides beside you on the bus

But it’s hard to go the distance all alone
When rolling thunder grumbles in your bones,
You dither and you dangle,
Think of almost any angle,
To bring you back a sweet love
You have known

You’re way on down the road of life, successfully,
On your own, bright shining as a pearl,
But for the heart’s insistence, you’re a solo girl,
Come on or keep your distance,
It’s a messed up world

The Magic Mandolin

There’s much I know deep in my blood
I can’t right well explain,
Like moonlight riding on the flood
That’s coursing through my veins

What tongue can’t tell and eyes can’t see
Comes dancing on the wind,
I hear it playing, high and free,
The magic mandolin 

There’s more that moves beneath the sky
Than we shall see revealed,
More afoot than meets the eye
Where reasons lie concealed 

It’s way beyond my reach to tell,
I won’t try to pretend,
I ever understood it well,
The magic mandolin

No words of explanation
From beginning to the end,
Ring truer than the melody
Of the magic mandolin 

I don’t know where it comes from
If not from the source of all,
Could be some fallen angel’s strum
Comes ringing off the wall

If it is, I can’t resist
Its sweet seduction streaming in,
Like a prelude to a lover’s kiss,
The magic mandolin

I follow where it leads to
Like a pilgrim in a trance,
Mingle in the retinue
Of revelers at the dance 

Where mystery runs deeper
Than my mind can comprehend,
In the rhythms of the keeper
Of the magic mandolin

The Voice Within You 

May you fall in with a cordial crowd
That shares your high ideals,
Honesty and courage
Be the ground beneath your wheels

May the path to freedom
Take you where you want to go,
Your senses and your reason
Tell you what you need to know 

May the gifts you have within you
Shine on in the light,
The voice you hear inside you
Always steer you right

May all your accomplishments
Be met with just acclaim,
And the things that you do naturally
Bring honor to your name

May truth and beauty mark your way
And be your stock in trade,
And may your family prosper
In a sweet home you have made

Principle and fairness be
Your judgment’s corner stone,
And good cheer and humor dance
Wherever you may roam

May the gifts you have within you
Shine on in the light,
The voice you hear inside you
Always steer you right

May all your accomplishments
Be met with just acclaim,
And the things that you do naturally
Bring honor to your name

Singin’ for the Freedom

I learned my ways from ruffians
Whose songs lit up the night,
Who fired away with blazing guns
With bullets made of light

Their tongues were crude but eloquently
Spoke the poison truth,
And with it fed the discontent
And hunger of my youth

They were signing for the freedom,
Singing for the truth,
Singing for the lonely souls
And lost and wasted youth,

Singing of the days
That blow away like drifting sand
And reaching for a feeling
Just beyond the tongue’s command

They opened up a new ground
We who follow settled well,
With soulful songs of souls they found
Along the road to hell,

Time’s washed away the road dust,
Some of them have passed away
But lightning that they left us
Crackles in the wind today

They were singing for the freedom,
They were singing for the truth,
Singing for the lonely souls
And lost and wasted youth

Singing for the days
That blow away like drifting sand,
And reaching for a feeling
Just beyond the tongue’s command

Some Tall Tales…and a Couple of Truer Ones

Flashing Pearl 

Down in Argentina, on the Pampas’ endless plain,
Outside of Manzanares, hat pulled low against the rain,
Rode Martin Fierro, with his moustache in a curl,
Wanted caballero, with a glint of flashing pearl 

He approached a dancehall on the far outskirts of town,
Tethered up his animal and laid his silver down,
Warm aguardiente, served up by a black haired girl
Drew the eye of Don Vicente, gleaming vile with flashing pearl

Fierro looked around him in the dance hall’s yellow light,
Shadows that surround him hiding danger in the night,
Who defeats Martin Fierro dominates this dangerous world
Of vicious caballeros, with their knives of flashing pearl

Just then, Don Vicente took exception to his look,
Vulgarities aplenty flowing, three quick steps he took,
As he faced Martin Fierro, one last epithet he hurled,
Then the sneering caballero flicked a blade of flashing pearl

Fierro took another drink and turned to face the threat,
With hardly even time to think a deadly scene was set,
They circled with their eyes on fire, locked in a manic swirl,
Tension winding higher with each feint of flashing pearl

Vicente made the first attempt to draw blood from his foe,
Fierro took the stab and limped, but still was good to go,
He countered with an agile lunge, gripped his knife, and whirled,
Drove in with a deadly plunge his blade of flashing pearl

As Vicente lay expiring on the dance hall’s wooden floor,
Vaqueros now retiring from the scene and through the door,
Shrinking from Fierro, all except the black-haired girl
Who approached the caballero with a smile of flashing pearl

Their eyes met in a cold embrace, their blood was running hot,
Martin surveyed her shining face and drained another shot,
She took a few steps toward him, let he inner light unfurl,
That instant to reward him, death from flashing pearl

That’s all there is to this rough tale, Fierro’s sad demise,
Told so that the truth prevail without a false disguise,
Not a better caballero, but a black-haired dance hall girl
Slew Martin Fierro with a blade of flashing pearl
Yeah, she killed Martin Fierro with a knife of flashing pearl

Rose-Colored Sky

Out in far west Texas,
Way down by the Rio Grande,
On one of the large ranches
Lived a leather-skinned old man 

Who had been a border cowboy
Since he first could walk and ride,
And seldom entertained a doubt
That God was on his side

He lived on chuck wagon beans
And bunkhouse rabbit stew,
But for all of that, he had the means
For all he liked to do

Like gazing as the sun comes up
And stars fade from the eye,
With cowboy coffee in his cup
At the rose-colored sky

Every dawn and sunset
He would gaze in through his eye
The beauty of the sacrament
Of the rose-colored sky

Many years of riding fences,
Driving cattle up the trail
Had sensitized his senses
To the forces that prevail,

Down the river, through the canyon,
Across the desert, beaneath the sky,
To beyond the far horizon
Where the lonely eagle flies

All things pass, he told a fine young
Cowboy by his side,
My time soon may come at last
To take that victory ride

Then over yonder purple mountain
When the sun begins to rise,
Look for my spirit riding across
That rose-colored sky

Every dawn and sunset he would
Gaze in through his eye
The universal sacrament
Of the rose-colored sky

My Old Country Home

I had a dream that time flew back
To my old country home,
That old hardscrabble desert tract
With a house of wood and stone

There was my mother in the garden,
Brother, sister too,
Me in the yard, the youngest
Small addition to the crew

Work in that sun was hard and hot,
Just scratching in the earth,
We never really had a lot,
But we knew what it was worth 

Pop took care of business
‘Round the farm and on the phone,
And kept that note against us
Far from our old country home

After changes upon changes
As so many years have flown,
My restless mind goes paging back
To my old country home

One day my brother fell down ill,
With what, we feared to know,
And though he’s always with me still,
Succumbed to polio

Although our hearts were broken,
Still somehow we soldiered on,
Without a harsh word spoken,
Through that nightmare to the dawn

The old homestead is long gone now,
New buildings in its place,
It’s only just my sister now
And me to keep the trace

Of memory and faith alive
And how from this we’ve grown,
Into this rich and blessed life
From our old country home

After changes after changes
As so many years have flown,
My restless mind keeps paging back
To my old country home

A Few Poems

To Cecilia

I can’t say if we’ll ever meet,
Though to me you’re near and precious,
As any child so mild and sweet
Was ever to grandparents

The joy you bring, O precious thing,
Is life in full to others,
When you smile, the heavens sing
With hope for your bright future

I know you’re safe and warm
With love and care there, as it should be,
But see no harm and think I ought to
Introduce part of your family 

These people on your father’s side
And, of course, his father’s too,
Passed down their lot of strength and love
That now come down to you

First, there’s your great grandmother,
Mary Lou, of wide renown,
Whose maiden name was Cannon,
But so graced the name of Brown

She was a pilot for the government,
For science, and for joy,
Who mapped the earth where she was sent,
Great projects to deploy

In this, she was a pioneer,
With nerve, and skill, and courage,
Who blew through vicious boundaries
That limit women’s choices

She was also kind and gentle,
With a wealth of fine old friends,
And a loving, caring mother
With so much strength to lend

That strength is for your progress now,
As she would wish it so,
That it be in you to draw on,
When you need it, as you go 

And too, through me, it comes to you
And through your own fine parents,
Just as it may come through you
To those for whom you’re caring 

Then old Price Brown, we called him Pop,
He was a good old boy,
A teacher and man of the land
Who made his home his joy 

Who grew great gardens, raised small flocks
Of turkeys, chickens, beef cows,
And made by hand fine furniture
All scattered through the old house 

There are many more behind these two,
Browns back to times now distant,
But here’s a start to give you
A fuller picture in an instant 

Of part of your family
You might not hear too much of,
Strong threads in your tapestry
And legacy of boundless love 

Then there’s me, grandfather Brown,
Father of your daddy,
The old professor, been around
Now old, alone, but happy 

Wishing you a happy life,
Productive and fulfilling,
Following your inner light
To sweet destiny, God willing

Untroubled 

Untroubled as the bees around a flower,
I buzz around the hive like nothing’s wrong,
Peacefully I while away the hours,
Obliviously free the whole day long;

This is what I call my special power,
Heedlessness of towers burning down,
When there’s nothing you can do but honest labor
And hunker in a sweet place you have found, 

Untroubled, by this vast man-made disaster,
Marching in a memory parade,
Might as well replace the tears with laughter
As hope of reconciliation fades

Untroubled as a prowling old coyote,
Before it trips the wire and the trap snaps shut,
I nose around and find my daily ration,
And stick on little band-aids where I’m cut

It’s mostly about gratitude, I’m thinking,
What’s the use of losing self-control?
Even as the earth-ship goes down sinking,
Saving grace lies somewhere in your soul, 

Untroubled, by this vast man-made disaster,
Marching in a memory parade,
Might as well replace the tears with laughter,
As hope of reconciliation fades

The Essence

I’ll be in the mists of morning
By the river,
When sunrise lays
Its roses on the green,

A whisper in the breeze
From out of nowhere,
A lullaby to soothe you in a dream

When I say that I’ll
Always be with you,
I intend no short constraint
Of mortal time

The essence is but love and understanding,
As close as blended harmony
In rhyme

Departure is not
Parting of the spirit,
Only just a change of atmosphere, 

The essence passes on,
And you maybe hear it,
As angelic inspiration in the ear

Dust will go with dust
Into the river,
With old blossoms,
Past the distant shore

All the grace
And love we knew together,
Lingers in the essence evermore

Don Francisco Chavez 

There’s a legend heard and told
In old New Mexico,
How Don Francisco Chavez
Played his hand when chips were low

They were playing five-card stud,
Old Juan Manuel and he,
With the foreman of the Hanshaw Ranch
And his vaqueros three

They’d been playing all night long,
And soon would come the dawn,
They never minded anything,
Just played on and on

Francisco’s stock was dropping low
With every losing hand,
The foreman’s pile was whopping,
Counted up, at least a grand

Then came the final showdown,
Far into the wee wee hours,
Francisco smooth and easy still,
The foreman, hard and sour

“Does it not seem, Francisco,
That tonight is not your night?
Better put what you have left
Away and out of sight”

“No, no, my friend, contrariwise
Now, deal the cards again,
For wager, put up all you have
Against my Arabian”

The foreman stopped and scratched his chin
And said with cold hard eyes,
“Well, yes, my friend, I know that horse,
Do you believe this wise?”

“Just mind your cards, the same as me,
And never mind the questions,
Five card stud, straight, nothing wild,
Last deal of this session”

Francisco drew four diamonds
And the Jack of Spades to boot,
He signed a note and put it in
Against the foreman’s loot 

That stallion was Francisco’s pride,
He had no thought of losing,
The foreman held a single pair
And tossed three of his choosing

No need to pause, the stakes were set,
With hope they drew replacements,
The foreman pulls a lucky seven,
And now thinks that he’ll take it

“Not so fast, old foreman friend,
Take heed of what I’m holding,
My luck has turned, a diamond flush,
It’s you who should be folding”

All at once, vaqueros three
Set on the don with malice,
There wasn’t then but those few left
Inside that whiskey palace

Vaqueros charged, the foreman drew,
Francisco kept his head on,
He swerved and ducked, his pistol blew,
No mark was he to tread on!

The foreman went down with a thud,
Vaqueros last seen running,
Juan Manuel sat soaked in blood
There counting up his money

Don Francisco kept the horse
And all the loot besides
At his home near Santa Fe,
Where every day he rides

So that’s the legend heard and told
In old New Mexico,
How Don Francisco Chavez
Played his hand when chips were low

Some wondered at the nerve and luck
That saved the day for Chavez,
Or whether it was really luck at all
He drew that Queen of Diamonds

Death of Poe

Edgar Allen Poe died
In October of ’49,
Forty years old, broken, wasted,
Half out of his mind

When on a street in Baltimore
He turned up nearly dead,
Wearing someone else’s clothes
And bleeding from his head

That evening was election night
In a ward of Baltimore
Where politics was not quite right
And the jurisdiction poor

Most think he ran afoul of thugs
Aligned with the party bosses,
Who shanghaied him and got him drunk
And put him where the cross is

It makes a chill go running
All up and down my spine,
How Edgar Allen Poe died
In October of ‘49

I walked through the old row house
He shared with his aunt and cousin,
When he was only starting out
With bees in his head buzzing 

Around the horn to Richmond,
New York, Boston, all the others,
And back around to Baltimore
With his dissipated brothers 

No puzzle mind back then had known
Could pose him any problem,
Except for the riddle of his own,
Wherein the devil caught him

Through the thunder and the rain
He rode ahead of trouble,
Skin to save and time to gain,
He beat it on the double

Well disposed to women,
Opium, and Spanish wine,
Edgar Allen Poe died
In October ‘49

He had a mind both blessed and cursed,
Brilliance laced with darkness,
Thoughts that strike like lightning bursts
Of power, light, and sharpness

But always there was some damn thing
That drink would aggravate,
To hook him with a wicked sting
And leave him to his fate 

Prince of mystery, through the darkness,
Calling through the Raven,
The Bells, and dreams of lost Lenore,
How swaggering he made them

His grave lies in the churchyard now,
There blessed by old Walt Whitman,
Rest in peace, for Nevermore
Still whispers on the night wind 

My dear sir, the literary
Angels have been kind,
Since Edgar Allen Poe died
In October ‘49