R.S. "SCOTT" GREGORY
California
About R.S. "Scott" Gregory
The Final Gate
Sitting proudly alongside his dad
While riding shotgun on the seat
Dad turns the old pick-up truck
Leaving the pavement on the street
They rattle down that old dirt road
Gravel plinking off the tin
The dust boils up behind them
In that rolling noisy din
As his Dad slide her to a halt
He grumbled and he fussed
He reaches down and opens the door
The cab fills up with dust
He pauses for a moment
Then looks over at his son
If that boy’s going to be a cowhand
It’s time that it begun
Now’s as good a time as any son
To learn to pull your weight
You want’a jump on out
And go open up that gate
The boy he can’t believe it
He’s treating him like a man
He really gets to help his dad
Just like a real cowhand
He jumps down off the running board
While he holds onto the door
He’s feeling like he’s six foot tall
He’s doing a cowhand’s chore
His dad smiles as he watches him
As he shuffles through the dirt
He’s going to be a real top hand
That ornery little squirt
He wears a beat up silver belly
That fits him way too big
With an old plaid and flannel shirt
Covering arms no bigger then a twig
His jeans are loose and baggy
And rolled up at the cuff
His back pocket’s full of liquorish
Pretending that it’s snuff
He’s wearing those old cowboy boots
There’s no doubt they’re hand-me-downs
They’re dried and cracked and curled at toe
And scuffed near all around
His little fingers try the gate
But they lack the strength they need
He looks up to his dad who says
Try real hard son and you can get her freed
But now that gate it shows its age
It’s no longer straight and true
With wire as old as he is
And posts that lean askew
He’s not sure why he thought of this
Or why he reminisced
Or why his mind reached back across
This historic old abyss
He eases down off the running board
As he holds on to the door
He’s feeling mighty stiff and old
And he’s tired of doing chores
He wears a beat up silver belly
That looks a little too small
With an old plaid and flannel shirt
Covering a back once straight and strong and tall
His jeans are loose and baggy
And rolled up at the cuff
A halo in the left back pocket
Wore through from a can of snuff
He’s wearing those old cowboy boots
There’s no doubt they’ve been around
They’re dried and cracked and curled at toe
And scuffed near all around
His fingers are old and tired
And they lack the strength they need
He hears the words of his father
Try real hard son, you can get her freed
Then suddenly so free and easy
That gate it opens wide
Smooth and quite it opens
Without having really tried
Again he hears his father’s voice
Son now you know your fate
I want to welcome you home with us
You’ve swung your final gate
Turn around and take a look
Down the road that you have traveled
That’s quite a life you’ve chronicled
And some tough old fights you battled
There were places where the road was smooth
And places where it’s rough
But on that road as a mortal man
You earned a place with us
You turned out to be quite a cowhand
You lived your life your own
You learned to climb back on your horse
Every time that you were thrown
I know it weren’t an easy road
And seemed an uphill climb
But it earned a place with us for sure
Now close and latch that gate son
For the last and final time
© 2007, R.S. "Scott" Gregory
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.
About R.S. "Scott" Gregory:
R.S. “Scott” Gregory was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. He is a former rodeo cowboy and a graduate of the Western College of Auctioneering. He is a member of the California Chapter of the Western Music Association and the author of Sowbelly and Sourdough, Cooking of the Trail Drives and Cow Camps of the 1800s.
Scott worked as a full time cowboy in Colorado and later found himself in law enforcement; chasing bad guys around Montana and Wyoming. Those experiences eventually led him to Beverly Hills where he now looks after the well-heeled elite. He jokingly refers to himself as the Cowboy Butler!
His poetry reflects his life, experience and knowledge of the American West and has allowed him to entertain audiences from Montana to West Texas.
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