“A Cowboy’s Lullaby” by Cara Vitadamo

We gathered on a true Sabbath,
When the distant sun was high
And our breath misted in the air.
We had carried a sorrowful burden for miles and miles
Ready for the inevitable task of carrying the mournful.

 

Oh! But your love; your pride
She met us with a smile and open arms
And the strong determination of an oak tree standing in a violent storm.
She then opened the door to her old country home
Where your boots were still lined up like soldiers
And your Stetson still on its hook.
She cocooned us in her love.
All the while, she sang to us a song
Like the song you sang to her so long ago—
A cowboy’s song.

 

Then, as the sun got closer to its meeting place with the earth
She taught her children’s children
Love for horses
And pink Cowboy boots
Singing to them—
A cowboy’s song.

 

That night,
She held a baby
As he slept a peaceful sleep.
Her unshed tears a clear glass pond;
While rivers rushed down my face.
I clung to her like morning glory vines.
Yet, her unwavering soul peered out into the world
Like the moon dimly lit in the day; refusing to go down without a fight.
And she sang to me—
A cowboy’s song.

 

Now, she sits by your bed.
You upon your horse
Slowly stepping into the setting red, orange sun.
She sings a soft melody.
Words of strength, love, loss, and acceptance.
For this is her song.
Her song to you.
A cowboy’s lullaby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cara Vitadamo is a registered nurse that enjoys poetry. She has been published in Torrid Literature, All Things Girl, and Mused a Bella Online Literary Review Magazine.