A Tall Bush

by Gwen Petersen

read poem
A Tall Bush

A cowgirl has a heap of fun
A ridin’ for the brand;
She rounds up cattle, ropes them calves
As good as any hand.

She wrassles dogies on the ground,
And also vaccinates;
She cuts the bulls, tattoos the ears
And keeps the tally straight.

And when the cowboys take a break
To have a pop or beer,
A cowgirl also drinks her share,
Then faces wrenching fear.

Now a cowboy does it simple style —
Just stands there by his horse,
A ponderin’ life’s meaning while
Nature takes its course.

But a cowgirl has three things she needs
While working way out West,
For riding chores, a darned good horse
Will help her do her best.

And second on the list, a dog
Who’ll jump to her command,
And heel the strays and line ‘em out,
A pup with lots of sand.

But happiness is when she finds
A tall bush thick with leaf
To shelter her and block from view
The bliss of pure relief.

© Gwen Petersen

GWEN PETERSEN lives on a small place with cats, dogs, horses and uninvited varmints and has been a working rancher for nearly 50 years in southern Montana. Her humorous style brings levity to real life subjects, especially country women. She writes a weekly humor column and articles for several western publications and has published her poetry and prose in numerous books and anthologies. Her latest book is How to Shovel Manure and Other Life Lessons for the Country Woman. Gwen founded and directed the Montana Cowboy Poetry Gathering in its original location in Big Timber, Montana.

Sponsors

National Endowment for the Arts
Nevada Arts Council
NV Energy Foundation