I liked the way we used to do,
when cattle was plenty and folks was few.
The people gathered frum far and near, and
they barbacued a big fat steer.
The kids tried stayin’ awake because,
they reckoned they might ketch Santa Claus.
Next mornin’ you’d wake ’em up to see,
what he’d been and put on the Christmas tree.
It was Christmas then fer the rich and pore,
and every ranch was an open door.
The waddy that came on a company hoss
was treated the same as the owner and boss.
Nobody seemed to have a care,
you was in among friends or you wasn’t there.
For every feller in them days knew
to behave hisself as a man should do.
Some had new boots, which they’d shore admire
when they warmed their feet in front of the fire.
And the wimmin folks had new clothes too,
but not like the wimmin of these days do.
Sometimes a drifter came riding in,
some feller that never was seen agin.
And each Christmas day as the years went on
we used to wonder where they’d gone.
I like to recall the Christmas night.
The tops of the mountains capped with white.
The stars so bright they seemed to blaze,
and the foothills swum in a silver haze.
Them good old days is past and gone.
The time and the world and the change goes on.
And you cain’t do things like you used to do
when cattle was plenty and folks was few.
(Bruce Kiskaddon)
More Poetry from Bruce Kiskaddon:
Bruce Kiskaddon Poems based on Topics: Man, Time, People, Night, Fire, World, Nature, Change, Christianity, Christmas, Silver- The Cow Boy's Dream (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
- When They've Finished Shipping Cattle in the Fall (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
- The Stampede (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
- The Balky Hoss (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
- An Old Western Town (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
- The Bronco Twister's Prayer (Bruce Kiskaddon Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, World Poems, Night Poems, Time Poems, Nature Poems, Christianity Poems, Fire Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, People Poems, Change Poems, Silver PoemsBased on Keywords: foothills, frum, capped, ranch, wimmin, swum, agin, ketch, hisself, stayin, waddy
- The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 14 (William Langland Poems)
- Trivia ; or, the Art of Walking the Streets of London : Book III (John Gay Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - IX. Urania (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Christ's Triumph after Death : Canto IV. Christ's Victory and Triumph (Giles Fletcher Jr Poems)
- Childhood (Henry Kirke White Poems)