Elegy for a Western Husband

©2023 by Abbie Johnson Taylor

 

Here lies a man who loved the west.

He never rode a horse or roped a steer,

but clad in his cowboy hat,

he rounded up cattle, mucked out stables,

battled adversaries, all from his recliner

with Gene Autrey, John Wayne, and Zayne Gray.

 

After two strokes paralyzed his left side,

he allowed his loving wife

to help him with personal care,

prepare his meals, do his laundry

until one night, when he saddled Death’s horse,

rode to that range in the sky.

 

***

 

Author’s Note: My Third Thursday Poets were recently prompted to write a poem about the west. We’re in Wyoming, by the way. Go figure.

Anyway, my late husband Bill was a fan of all things western: books, movies, music. He also subscribed to and read True West Magazine. So, the subject of this poem was a no-brainer. It was recently posted on Patty’s Worlds. You can click the link below to hear me read it.

 

Elegy for a Western Husband

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

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