A Shared Blessing ( cowboy poetry)

I thank thee Lord for blessings,
Poured out on me like rain,
It seems for most I have to wait—
To know the loss before the gain.

I thank thee Lord for grassland,
For the cattle that survived,
I thank thee Lord for horses—
And the talent they have inside.

I thank thee for their willingness
To work for feed for wages,
For the good they’ve done for man—
Today down through the ages.

I thank thee for the gift of growth,
It’s something man can’t give,
For increase in both crop and herd—
Thou—Giver of life to live.

I can plant, harvest and graze,
And stack and store and sell,
But I can’t give the growth—
That springs from thy eternal well.

I thank thee Lord for family,
For those long past before,
That loved this land as I do now—
Could they have loved it more?

I stop and pause and wonder,
As the rain is slowing down,
At blessings from thy gentle hand,
That are seldom seen in town.

© 2007, Paul Kern, used with permission

Rancher and poet Paul Kern’s poem fits this season of gratitude.

He told us, “The poem’s inspiration came in 2007 at my small ranch in Island Park, Idaho; I had lost calves due to late season snow storms and then a drought ensued for a good part of the growing season. That fall I was lucky enough to break even when I sold off to the feed yard. I remember coming back to the cabin during a long awaited rain storm feeling like I had been somehow rescued. Sitting down in the rocking chair by the fireplace, I wrote ‘Seldom Seen in Town,’ which is an expression of my thanks for tender mercies during a tough season.”

Listen to his recitation of the poem from his CD, “Saddle Songs of Idaho”: https://soundcloud.com/horse-packer/14-seldom-seen-in-town

Please ask for permission to use  Paul Kern’s poems…