OH, for me a horse and saddle Every day without a change; With the desert sun a-blazin' On a hundred miles o' range, Just a-ridin', just a-ridin', Desert ripplin' in the sun, Mountains blue along the skyline,— I don't envy anyone. When my feet are in the stirrups And my horse is on the bust; When his hoofs are flashin' lightnin' From a golden cloud o' dust; And the bawlin' of the cattle Is a-comin' down the wind,— Oh, a finer life than ridin' Would be mighty hard to find, Just a-ridin', just a-ridin', Splittin' long cracks in the air, Stirrin' up a baby cyclone, Rootin' up the prickly pear. I don't need no art exhibits When the sunset does his best, Paintin' everlastin' glories On the mountains of the west. And your operas look foolish When the night bird starts his tune And the desert's silver-mounted By the kisses of the moon, Just a-ridin', just a-ridin', I don't envy kings nor czars When the coyotes down the valley Are a-singin' to the stars. When my earthly trail is ended And my final bacon curled, And the last great round up's finished At the Home Ranch of the world, I don't want no harps or haloes, Robes or other dress-up things,— Let me ride the starry ranges On a pinto horse with wings, Just a-ridin', just a-ridin', Splittin' chunks o' wintry air, With your feet froze to your stirrups And a snowdrift in your hair. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WAR IS KIND: 12 by STEPHEN CRANE ALMOND BLOSSOM by EDWIN ARNOLD SONNET TO THE KYNGE by THEODORE AGRIPPA D' AUBIGNE THE ANT-HEAP by ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER BENSON THE WASHER WOMAN'S SONG by WILLIAM BLAKE INTERVAL by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 45. FAREWELL TO JULIET (7) by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |