Bull Ride
by Calvin Daniels
The kid He's the hottest thing on the circuit Every nickel he touches turns into a dollar Still, he's got to get it up in the morning And get it out there in the afternoon There isn't a joint that don't ache His torn tendon won't heal and he's lost count of the stitches and scars But he climbs the chute anyway The grimace on the kid's face ain't fear It's determination He's an annoying gnat in a cowboy hat hunkering down on the horns of a dilemma tied astride a ton of bad attitude Old Dead Eye A pure mean brahma 2,000 pounds of power and wisdom A slinky with a hump in it The kid cinches the rope tight a suicide loop sealed with warm resin They pull the gate The kid goes to a kicking and a scratching Reaching for the devil with his feet Looking to the lord with his eyes It's a bullet start with a rocket finish Fake to the left Jump back to the right In the middle of it all Ole' Dead Eye goes to a wigglin' and a wobblin' Right hip follows left jaw A little belly roll at the front And the bottom drops out The kid is sitting back on his pockets And gets thrown over his buckle Slam dunked in the arena mud The air disappears from his lungs There's a taste of dust and blood Eyes tear, the vision blurs As four hooves of wrath descend from the heavens above And Tylenol's not going to get rid of the hurt this time
Calvin Daniels is Editor of Yorkton This Week & Enterprise newspaper in Saskatchewan, Canada. He has also written for more than 100 magazines including Western Producer, Grainews, Canadian Hereford Digest, Prairie Pork Report and Charolais Banner. He has had several poems and short stories published as well.
e-mail c.b.daniels@sk.sympatico.ca
