A sestina for Johnny Cash Memorial Day |
(For Writer's Cramp contest, reflection on Johnny Cash)
An old worn out hand, a cowboy Exhausted at having captured freedom Rejecting modern life, instead he wanders Ranging out so far from his home He seeks no company but rides alone A tall black hat protects him from the rain So Cash gave to his fans who, too, sought freedom A chance to leave their mortgage, freely wander Yet with their jobs and children stay at home. He pointed to the pain to ride alone And, like the “Desperado” in the rain Each fan felt they truly were cowboys The cowboy of the story freely wanders The queen of hearts requires a loving home In choosing none you chose to live alone And feel yourself drifting in the rain Cash sets up here the ideal of the cowboy A single lonely man in search of freedom Sometimes I ache to turn away from home Amidst the cries I long to be alone Sometimes I stand out, face up in the rain How glorious seems the life of those cowboys! To range across the land in endless freedom! To journey where they wish, to always wander! Yet dreadful is the silence of “alone” And I freeze to the bone when out in rain My roping skills far less than a cowboy’s. The bars of sadness only mimic freedom And saddlesore and weary, those who wander Cash teaches us to truly love our home No life is only sunshine; all bring rain Wild hearts lie in mothers and cowboys To live the life you chose – now there is freedom! And such songs let us stay although we wander The desperado seeks a loving home A joyful place where he stands not alone Idolize a cowboy and seek freedom But when you wander, make sure you come home Else you alone ask questions to the rain |