Somber Saddleman

The sun sits high in the vault of the pre-summer sky
As the string stealthily saunters in single file
The sound of fresh cool water splashing in the drinker
Has most likely stirred the horses to come on in

The mercury has been slowly climbing as of late
Day by day and bit by shiny bit it's creeping skyward
The winter rains that until now have laid dormant
Are surfacing in the heat through billions of green buds

It's good see all the new growth and it inspires me
Inspires me to do all the long overdue maintenance
That somehow slipped away from me these last months
As the rain and mud kept taking my trucks hostage

I wipe down and oil the saddles and tack
And the leather takes a healthy drink
I reach for my canteen and take a long hard draw
As I wipe the sweat from under the brim of my hat

Lately life has seen fit to throw this saddleman
A curve or two... a hard day's work his only respite
But when the work is done and the sun again hangs low
The days ironically come to a somber end...

As he scrapes the horse droppings from his boots