I want you to imagine,
A few moments if you will.
A lambing barn at midnight
When the ranch is still.
See steaming newborns
And not an empty jug.
Assist a yearling
With a gentle tug.
Glimpse twins nursing, tails wiggling,
Colostrum provides their every need.
Watch lambs jump and race
Through mixing pens as you feed.
Check pairs and new spring pastures
While taking an evening stroll.
Send your border collie “Way Back”
To gather a clover covered knoll.
Concentrate at the dodge gate,
The first fats are ready to sell.
Here comes the little bummer
He’s grown so you can barely tell.
Trail a flock of old crops
On a crisp frosty morn.
Spy a speckle-eared lamb
You revived when it was born.
Recall when the wool market
Wasn’t such a wreck.
Hear the thunder of hooves,
Across a shearing deck.
Listen to the rhythm of the machines,
Hanging oiled, ready for the first blow.
Dream you could shear them yourself,
If only you weren’t so slow.
Feel your leg muscles burn
From tromping wool all day.
Then sit back and smile
While puppies frolic and play.
Images like these,
Keep my passion for sheepherding alive.
I hope you share this same passion
For the industry in which you strive.
© 1998, Tom Nichols – See more from Tom @ http://www.cowboypoetry.com/tomnichols.htm
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author’s written permission.
Photo by Tom Nichols
