Courtesy Dennis Liddell.
July 31, 2019
By J. Douglas Hinds
Fifty bucks to ride this horse
The man was surely bluffin’
Dave looked at me, then at the horse
Said, I ain’t ridin nothin’
Come on I said, it’s fifty bucks
How tough can one horse be
There ain’t no horse that I can’t ride
Just wait right here and see
Who’s going to pay your hospital stay
When you break your foolish neck
I can ride that horse I said
Though he looks a nervous wreck
I eased my self up on the fence
And looked down in the chute
His eyes were wild, his nostrils flared
This wern’t no gentle brute
Someone said, now hang on tight
When they opened up the gate
That horse exploded like dynamite
I thought I’d met my fate
First thing out I lost my stirrup
And then I lost my pride
Why I spent more time being air born
Than I did the actual ride
I wasn’t sure which way was up
Until I hit the dirt
Someone said it took three weeks
Before I knew it hurt
Dave just laughed, said I told you so
I’ve seen that horse before
There ain’t a man who gets right up
And asks to ride once more
I guess I sorta laid there
My head was feelin dense
And when my mind and dust all cleared
I was layin outside the fence
Come on back in the corral boy
I heard a cowboy say
Just one more time on this here horse
And we’ll call it a perfect day
Dave just kept on smilin
Said, do ya know that horse’s name
Sudden Death is what they call him
Now that’s your claim to fame
Note. Originally published in A Peek at the Peak, February 2011 issue.
Recent Comments