THE OLD COWBOY

A smile teases thin lips,
Determination and a twinkle
Glisten in brown eyes
Sunken low in sockets,
Staring at me from a sun-tanned,
Weather-wearied face.
Deep wrinkles crease his forehead
And leathery cheeks.
I see a swing in his slim hips
As he moves toward me,
A defined briskness in his walk,
And a definite limp in his pace.
Lean -- almost too lean --
Hands scarred, blisters and burns
From holding onto ropes
Or branding irons...
I know he's stiff from
Arthritis in joints and bones
Caused from breaks and bruises long ago
But he's forgotten them, as though
They never existed,
And he goes on with life,
Living each day on his own terms...