HARAN HUNTER
About Haran Hunter
Haran Hunter's web site
Haran & Marias
Photo Credits: Ken Redding Photographics / Vail, CO - Patagonia Catalog
Photo Shoot in Glacier National Park, Montana )
Straight From The Heart
It's not all boots and jeans, or fancy shaped beaver hats
ain't a rope hangin' in your truck or pretty little chaps
the saddles are rarely fancy 'cause of ridin' in the rain
training a horse to rope can bring a little pain
mending fences and working cows, riding for the brand
sun-up to sundown, each day, covering a lot of landjust cause you earn a wage from the saddle don't mean you're a real cowpoke
it's a lot of years, wet saddle blankets, and usually being broke
feeding tons of hay in winter, branding calves in summer
it's year round, every day, with thousands of acres to cover
eatin' dust and beat-up trucks, mud up to your knees
doctorin' cattle, pullin' calves, more than what it seems
Friday nights, maybe, you'll get into town
'cept when the snow's too deep and you can't get around
then you just sit back and watch the sunset across Montana's big sky
knowing exactly why you're here, never asking why
you realize it's cause it's what you do and who you are, not because you should
most will never understand riding for a livin' and working harder than most men could
"whiskey bent and hell raising" - that's for wannabes in the city
fancy shirts and silver buckles, sittin' a little too pretty
the way you bridle a horse and saddle a bronc tells one who knows
if you're for real, or just got the right clothes
yes, to earn a wage honestly from the saddle
you gotta know where to start
it ain't for fame or fortune, it's not what you wear, it's gotta be
straight from the heart!
© 1994, Haran Hunter
About Haran Hunter:
Although it has been a few years since I left the West, there are many
things I still hold dear...the mountain peaks in winter, the rushing rivers of
spring thaw, and the many days spent with a rope in my hand working cattle
on the range, or when they come out of the chute. For many a day was had
coming off that bronc when you didn't think you could get up and walk, and
then hours later two-steppin' and waltzing 'til morning on sawdust covered
wood floors to a good country band. In my writing, I just hope you'll find
a poem that you'll enjoy, several of which have been published in a few
publications, as well as local papers. They were all written while living
in Colorado and Montana. A single prayer in this regard is that you'll be
able to see through my eyes the days of old, and what the West has now
become in places. Above all, the words that were inspired by the peaks of
the Rockies, as well as the horses that took me through them, were "Straight
From The Heart."Visit Haran Hunter's web site.
Photo Credits: Ken Redding Photographics / Vail, CO - Patagonia Catalog
Photo Shoot in Glacier National Park, Montana )
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2000-2004
Managing editor: M.
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