COWBOY RHYMES: GOSPEL MILL

JUST AN HOUR LATE

Well, it seems like such a little thing

To move the time in the spring

Manipulation to satisfy someone's whim

Filling nature's cup up over the brim

It's a cheat and everyone knows it

Some don't think much and some oppose it

But, like a game of poker, it's tough to get caught

And in the end, you don't get what you thought

And so it is with the daylight advocates

Those who think summer is for extended fetes

When the time comes to pay their due

And they find they aren't even in the right queue

Standing at the pearly gates on a hot summer's day

You might find that your admission has a delay

St. Pete doesn't use a savings plan for time

It is what it is and for centuries it was sublime

You see, you arrived on the daylight saving clock

You were an hour late and the gates were locked

You'll have to go down below and wait

Pay for your sins before St. Pete can reopen the gate

How long will it take for you to pay the price?

How many years did you think saving time was nice?

All those extra hours will have their cost

Down below where Lucifer is the boss

Two hundred and thirty-eight hours for every year

That's how long ol' Satan will be snickering in your ear

Now, think again if you really want it to be unending

Is a lifetime in Hell the life you want to be spending?

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

RAINBOW'S END

I've been at the end of the rainbow

I've seen it when it touched the ground

I'm waiting for the milk and honey to flow

And for my winning lotto ticket to be found

The myth of rainbows and good luck

Overshadows the magnificence of the moment

Like the sustain that is missing with a good pluck

It's the brass ring just beyond the line of encroachment

The beauty of the rainbow, for it's short-lived existence

Is all too often cast aside for lessor values

While we scurry along maintaining a stubborn persistence

Seen and dismissed, so it is we who shall lose

It's a reminder of the miracle of life as we know it

A promise for another chance to make it work

We easily forget that he doesn't have to show it

A gentle nudge to remind us not to shirk

The sum total value of the rainbow in the sky

Is the assurance that there will be a tomorrow

What we do with it, is up to us to decide

We can leave here with joy going up or below with sorrow

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

THE COWBOY AND THE PARSON

It was Sunday morn and the cowboy had all his weekly chores complete

So he headed into town to attend church service

A new parson was supposed to be preaching this week

He hadn't been in some time and he was, understandably, a bit nervous.

When he arrived, he noticed that he and the parson were the only ones there at the start

The parson asked if he should deliver his sermon since there were so few

The cowboy said, "well Preacher, I may not be too smart,

But if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I wouldn't refuse"

So the parson stood behind the pulpit and delivered, one hour, then two, then three

Occasionally the cowboy looked around and he and the parson were still alone

When the sermon was finally over and the cowboy was set free

The long-winded preacher asked him how the service was, had any seeds been sewn?

The cowboy looked at the parson and then he looked at the clock

He commented on some of the passages mentioned that day

Then he said, "well, Preacher, I may not be the smartest guy on the block,"

"But if I went to feed my cows and only one showed up, I certainly wouldn't feed her all the hay."

...

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

+ THE CROSS +

Border crossers and cross dressers

The sign of the cross coming down the crossroads

We're all cross over the agressors

Cross my heart and that ain't no load

A loudmouth crosses the judge

Then finds a cross to bear

Better to cross your "Ts" and don't budge

Cross off another guilty verdict, au contraire

It crossed my mind that your sins were paid

By the guy on the old rugged cross

When you cross over Jordan just hope you prayed

Right and wrong crisscross scores high with the firey boss

...

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

REWARD FOR A HARD LIFE

There is no fear in death when life has been nothing but a chore

When all you could do was try to keep the wolf away from the door

Struggle day in and day out just to barely make ends meet

While the spoils all go to the hoards of liars and cheats

It's a hard life for those who play by the rules

Temptation surrounds us like a crown of jewels

The harder it gets, the more life temps us with treasures

But you can't take it with you no matter what your pleasure

We come in with nothing and we go out the same way

Your chest full of rubies and gold will still have to stay

No matter how long or how short from the start to the finale

It's always the same when you reach the place for the tally

Living an honest life has no value while still on Earth

The rewards for integrity are withheld until you've proven your worth

Looking forward to the end, to meet your friends is the reward

Whatever transport there is to the future is what I want to board

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

CALLING GOD ON THE PHONE

A young preacher just finishing his last year of seminary

Only needed one more test before he could preach the lectionary
The school's master theologian gave him his retort
Survey churches on how they communicate with God and write a report

Well first, he started with St. Peter's Bassilica at Vatican City

There he found a gold pay-phone by Vatican Decree

The sign said: "Talk to God — just ten million lira"

"Could that be true?" he thought, "Could God really hear ya?"

He asked the monsignor there if that was real

And was told, "Certainly, and it's a huge deal"

"Our parishioners use it all the time and it works

Plus, it brings in a lot of revenue for the church"

Next, he went to the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral in Brazil
The same story was told about keeping the coffers filled
The people talk to God on the phone day and night
God listens and gives his answers very polite

At the next church on his list, the bishop was busy with the choir
So he put his credit card in the slot and got the Almighty on the wire
Amazing, that for 10 bucks here and 25 dollars there,
Anyone could talk with God and God would care

But in the most expensive church, Our Lady of Gucci, in Beverly Hills
He couldn't believe the cost, one hundred - hundred dollar bills
"Well, I've seen all the big churches, now I should check something small"
"And find out if they can give Hosanna on High a call"

So on his way back home to Boston,
He jumped off the plane in Austin
There he hired a hack and a cabby
To help him find a monestary or an abbey

They drove from one town to another
Looking for an order with a talking brother
In a little Texas town called Thrall
They found they could talk to God on a phone call

To his surprise, the phone was not gold at all
And the sign said, "Deposit 25 cents to make your heavenly call"
In utter disbelief, he asked if a quarter was really all
Calmly, the monk whispered, "From here, it's just a local call"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

JAN'S GUITAR

This little guitar was held in a young girl's hands
It sang to her the happy songs she held dear
And comforted her in times that were sad
This little guitar with notes so bright and clear

This little guitar didn't cost so very much
But it brought more joy than anyone could conceive
"Yes Jesus Loves Me," "This Little Light of Mine" and such
This little guitar that helped a young girl believe

This little guitar that fit her young hands so fine
Lessons learned to help her beyond the music domain
Patience, understanding, perserverance to help a young girl shine
This little guitar made of such soft woodgrain

This little guitar was a friend, treasured by a pretty young girl
A pretty young girl who played it for way too short of a time
A pretty young girl who wasn't able to stay in this world
This little guitar with memories so divine

In Memoriam for Janice Claire Sigler 1954-1964

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

GRIEF

Just what is grief?

Is it some kind of tool,

To be used for relief?

Or torture so cruel?

Grief that hides, grief that masks,

Grief that rides, grief that overtakes.

Fight it but lose control of the tasks.

Flowing tears will ease the heartaches.

The living pay the price,

Remembering the past,

Living in the vise

That squeezes the memory of the passed.

Death is sure suffering,

For those who remain,

Moving forward but only shuffling,

Like a zombie without a brain.

Grief has its own mind

And lives on it's own timetable.

Each episode is its own kind

And nothing you can disable.

It comes when you least expect,

Stopping you on your course,

Designed to prevent a total wreck,

To be used like a wheel horse.

The mistake was made and done,

By giving it a singular name,

As if there was only one,

When there are many with the same aim.

Your's, his, their's, and mine.

Are all different with the same name.

Every person has a brand new grief,

Like snowflakes, none are the same.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

THE GOSPEL OF TEXAS
(YOU MUST COME IN AT THE DOOR)

Oh, some migrants go by water and some migrants go by land
But I'll tell you, my friends, if you wanna get to Texas, well, you gotta go hand in hand
As Abbott told the people by his letter of decree
He said, "here is the door that leads to Texas and you must come in by me"

[Chorus]
(The wire is) so low you can't walk under it
So High, you can't climb over it
So wide, you'll never get around it
You must come in at the door

You may talk about it brother, just as much as you please
You can talk to the Lord about it when you're down on your knees
But Abbott is not a liar and he don't wear no hypocrite shoes
So if you don't watch your step brother, he'll slip the cuffs right on you

[Chorus]
(The wire is) so low you can't walk under it
So High, you can't climb over it
So wide, you'll never get around it
You must come in at the door

Don't let the wrong side fool you brothers cause you'll find out
When your time comes to cross, your sins are gonna lock you out
You might pretend to be an angel but we won't believe a word
You've got to learn to separate yourself from the herd

[Chorus]
(The wire is) so low you can't walk under it
So High, you can't climb over it
So wide, you'll never get around it
You must come in at the door

I'll tell ya now brothers and sisters lookin' for a way
You can watch the fools drowning in the river and know that ain't the way
And you can try the same as the others by slippin in, in the dark
But you'll soon find out, that way ain't no picnic in the park

[Chorus]
(The wire is) so low you can't walk under it
So High, you can't climb over it
So wide, you'll never get around it
You must come in at the door

The grass is always greener on the other side, or so it always seems
But let me tell you brother, that's only true in someone else's dreams
If you want what someone else has more than you want your life
You don't deserve what God has in mind for you, but you can have Lott's wife.

[Chorus]
(The wire is) so low you can't walk under it
So High, you can't climb over it
So wide, you'll never get around it
You must come in at the door

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

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