Latest from Chopper Kate

Tex

It had been a couple of years or so
since I saw Tex last.
I nearly walked on by
when a voice from the past
spoke up and said. "Don't ya even know a brother?
Bet you thought ole Tex was dead!"

"Tex, you look damn near civilized!
I wouldn't have believed it was you
if I hadn't seen with my own eyes!"
Two feet of beard and hair past his shoulder
all were gone now, cut and shaved clean
His eyes looked distant, a little sad and older.
A genuine graybeard, seasoned and sage
now looking more like some wild bird
held captive in a cage.

"I sold the shovel, you know I gave up the life.
It all came down to change or lose everything,
my home, the kids, my wife.
A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do..."
His voice trailed off along with his gaze.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing,
I was confounded, left in a daze.

Over the years I've seen my share of souls
convert for one reason or another,
but I never dreamed Tex would,
My partner in "crime", my old road brother!
I bit my tongue before I could say,
"Man, it wasn't that shovel that made you lose your way"

It's a choice we make, I believe.
When those "demons" seek you out,
they gamble with your soul
hold all the cards and deal the doubt .
A man has to be ready when they come to call.
It's got nothing to do with riding,
not a damn thing at all!

But, I couldn't even begin,
and as I watched his face turn to the wind,
I swear I saw as we stood there in silence.
a glimpse of my old friend and that wind washed defiance
as fleeting as the waning breeze.

"It's been great and you take care! "
I slapped his back and hugged him like a bear.
His words they turned over again and again
like some troubling song stuck in my brain.
I rode away and he climbed in his truck.
Turning to wave, I yelled back "Good luck!"
It wasn't much to offer that much is true,
when a man 's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.
copyright 2007/chopperkatejohnson