Snow Line
By: Wayne Brown
Winter is closing on Montana
Cold Arctic air is flowing down
There’s strays up in the high country
Time to bring them to lower ground
Four cowpokes saddle their mounts
Head out up the mountain trek
They’re sayin’ snow by morning
Need to round up strays and get back
The wind is already blowin’ swift
It stings the bare hands and face
Winter sends it cold, cold warning
These cowpokes are in a race
Upward they climb on steady steed
Riding toward the high snow line
A few strays graze in the trees
Movin’ down; that’s a pretty good sign
The cattle are moving down looking for grass
Pushed along by the colder weather
Most of them are grazing near the trees
Clustered there to stay warm together
Willie and Joe will head them down the hill
Tom and Max will look for other strays
The doggies are prone to wonder off
In this weather they’ll die in days
The first flakes of snow begin to fall
Tossing wildly about on the swift wind
The ‘pokes will have to hurry
It’s time for the cold winter to begin
There’s a doggie over in the draw
Tom runs him down the hill
Headin’ down to lower ground
Just like the others will
The wind driven snow is whiting out
The cowpokes blinded by the storm
That ol’ bunkhouse sound good right now
With its old stove blazin’ warm
Still they work the rocks and draws
Looking for the young ones there
Here comes Max pushin’ through the snow
And look, he’s drivin’ a pair
Tom’s got a young one across the saddle
The calf too cold to walk on its own
But now it’s ridin’ in the best of hands
And Tom will bring it home
The clock is running out with each minute
The trail now can barely be made out
Time to get down below the snow line
And turn these cattle out
Smelling the lure of lowland grass
The cattle move on in a trot
Pokes and cows running from the storm
With everything they’ve got
Down in the lowland meadows
The snow squall is well behind
But it’ll be down here soon enough
It’s just a matter of time
The cattle are settled into pasture
The pokes are back home warm and fine
All is well on this Montana ranch
As winter drops below the snow line
©Copyright WBrown2012. All Rights Reserved.
24 October 2012
