Final Chores

Floyd Henderson

Crisp and bright breaks the mornin'
Out here on these panhandle plains
With dark norther clouds just formin'
And winds whistlin' around the wains
Forecastin' a bitter winter season

Long and cold with snow hard blowin'
Into drifts that cloud men's reason
To lead them off the trail unknowin'
Where finally they'll lie unhallowed
'Til Spring melts icy grave blankets
From wallows or ditches too shallow
So they can sleep in proper caskets
And family and friends gather 'round
To help put them properly underground
With happier spirits eternally unbound
And soft-sittin' saddles newly found
Again ridin' free over canyons of cloud
The old waddies always pass out proud
Doin' their jobs never flashy or loud
And stand at judgment heads unbowed