Badland Trails

By Richard Mousseau

BADLAND TRAILS

My pony’s bridle lays across a hay bail.
A black saddle straddles a fence post rail.
From blurry eyes a tear drop may fall.
Ghostly apparitions of a memory to recall.

In days of youth mounting from fence rails,
rider on pony would wander endless trails.
My mount would forever faithfully guide,
when crossing haunted badlands at a stride.

Quotes;
I am delighted by the romanticism of the poetry, making light of the hardships.
I want to be a cowboy and live in the romantic era of open trails and endless plains.
The cowboy life is humorous when looked at by Mr. Cheeks-Too-Soft.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moose Hide Books imprint of Moose Enterprise Publishing
• Release date: Feb 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781927393239

Book preview

Badland Trails

Badland Trails

BADLAND TRAILS

By

RICHARD MOUSSEAU

(A.K.A. Mr. Cheeks-Too-Soft)

MOOSE HIDE BOOKS

imprint of

MOOSE ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING

PRINCE TOWNSHIP

ONTARIO, CANADA

cover illustration by Richard Mousseau

Badland Trails

by

Richard Mousseau

Copyright April 5, 2013

Published September 1, 2013

by

MOOSE HIDE BOOKS

imprint of

MOOSE ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING

684 WALLS ROAD

PRINCE TOWNSHIP

ONTARIO, CANADA

P6A 6K4

web site www.moosehidebooks.com

NO VENTURE UNATTAINABLE

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED, THIS INCLUDES STORING IN RETRIEVAL SYSTEM OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM BY ELECTRONIC MEANS, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR OTHER, WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS PUBLISHER.

THIS BOOK IS A WORK OF FICTION, NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES AND INCIDENTS ARE EITHER PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL EVENTS OR LOCALES OR PERSONS, LIVING OR DECEASED, IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL.

CREATED IN CANADA

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Mousseau, Richard E., author

Badland trails / Richard Mousseau

Poems.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-927393-22-2 (pbk.).–ISBN 978-1-927393-23-9 (pdf)

I. Title

PS8576.0977B33 2013C811’.54C2013-905078-7

C2013-905079-5

BADLAND TRAILS

INDEX

1.Pony - pg.-5

2.Bug- pg.-9

3.Ain`t No Water- pg.-11

4.South of the Border- pg.-13

5.Say Goodnight Sweetheart- pg.-15

6.Woolly- pg.-17

7.Gun Slingers- pg.-21

8.A prairie Mound- pg.-25

9.A man of Refine- pg.-27

10.Alice May- pg.-29

11.Dedication- pg.-31

12.A tale of Two Klondike Kates- pg.-33

13.Just Biding Time- pg.-37

14.River- pg.-39

15.An Advertisement- pg.-41

16.Fly- pg.-43

17.A Mystic Life- pg.-45

18.Fences- pg.-47

19.Markers- pg.-49

20.Consideration- pg.-51

21.Just-the-Cook’s, Sauce-de-Cream- pg.-53

22.A Texas long Horn- pg.-57

23.A Dollar a Day- pg.-59

24.Daily Chores- pg.-61

25.Chicken Trail- pg.-63

26.Dime Store Cowboy- pg.-67

27.A Cowboy- pg.-69

28.Stampede- pg.-71

29.Ambivalence- pg.-73

30.No Place Like Home- pg.-75

Pony

Moonlight crests gentle prairie wheat.

In contemplative thought I take a seat.

Silence prevails throughout the plains.

In hands, I caress worn leather reins.

My pony’s bridle lays across a hay bail.

A black saddle straddles a fence post rail.

From blurry eyes a tear drop may fall.

Ghostly apparitions of a memory to recall.

A worn horseshoe hangs above a barn door,

a twisted thrown shoe that my pony wore.

A thread-bare Navaho blanket covers a wall,

leading to the emptiness of a hollowed stall.

In days of youth mounting from fence rails,

rider on pony would wander endless trails.

My mount would forever faithfully guide,

when crossing haunted badlands at a stride.

Then sudden laughter when sailing head over heels,

a comical display of arms and legs in this ordeal.

There I lay facing up toward the bright blue sky,

contemplating the need to ask a question of why?

Waiting patiently upon the opposite creek bank,

pony snickered, delighted by the playful prank.

The expanse of water was not muddy nor deep.

Clean hooves and socks pony wanted to keep.

Is this a lesson in life needing to be taught,

to allow others to express insightful thought?

Never again would I spur to obtain a course,

an objection of direction, pony would endorse.

Companions may always have indifference,

a bonding friendship always the essence.

We discussed the matter with in-depth philosophy,

concluding to continue to wander the geography.

Stopping to nibble on greenery in abundance,

taste buds relished more flavour and substance.

A cowboy’s trial-side lunch is mighty nutritious.

Peanut butter sandwiches digestibly delicious.

Despite stickiness to the mouth and tongue,

lips contorted and a loud snort, pony sung.

Over a shoulder came slobbering lips,

requiring a drink from a canteen to sip.

Under a summer