Horses to Cattle and that Old Wilson Saddle
by Mick Kaser.

Mick Kaser is a poet and rancher from Buffalo, Wyoming. He performs his poetry around the country and has presented at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. His poetry often focuses on Wyoming and, of course, that makes it special for us.

His book, "Horses to Cattle and that Old Wilson Saddle" includes the poem below and his well-known poem "Steamboat" which is about the horse which has become the symbol of Wyoming. A copy of that poem is on the wall of Former Wyoming Governor and Ambassador to Ireland, Michael Sullivan.

Kaser presented some of his poetry at the Wyoming Territorial Park Poetry Gathering in July, 2001. The poem presented below, "The Final Stroke" shows the Wyoming influence in his work. To order the book, contract Kaser at the address below.

The FINAL STROKE

Where the mountains meet the heavens
where God brushed His final stroke
Where He stood back in awe and
admiration...........then he spoke

And said "I think I'm finished
I have just created earth"
The Master's touch to what evolved
from fire and rock at birth

He shaped it with his own two hands
in to a perfect sphere
And sent it on a journey
`round the sun that took a year

His fingers carved the canyons
the peaks He formed by hand
His whiskers put the rippling waves
into the drifting sands

And where he pressed his fingers
there soon would be a lake
The pressure pushed the mountains up
and made volcanoes quake

He made the rain to fill those lakes
and satisfy His thirst
Then he started making continents
I think Africa was first

Next came Australia
then Persia and the Middle East
North America was last
but certainly not the least

Because she had the mountains
the rivers and the dales
The little meadow flowers
in the valleys and the vales

Then, He made man and woman
to enjoy His fruits of toil
And placed them in the Garden
to bounty from the soil

He roped around the equator
and tightened up the girth
Stood back and said, "Now, It's finished!
I have just created earth"

But Whoa! There's something missing
what on earth could it be
He had made the Mississippi
Grand Canyon and Seedskeedee

But He hadn't made a place
for the Cowboy to go
Where he could make a living
raisin' cows.........or rodeo

He hadn't made the Tetons
or Yellowstone personified
Or made the Rocky Mountains
or pushed up the Great Divide

So..... He took His mighty brush
and with one Final Stroke
He painted in Wyoming
for all his special folks............

© Mick Kaser

The book is available directly from the author:

Mick Kaser
230 Gumwood
Buffalo, WY 82834

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Ya see, I'm a progressive cowpoke,
And am open to anything that ain't wrong;
And I heard a seminar was being offered,
That would make weak men more strong.

Now I'm not meek by any means,
But do have some stress in my life;
So I felt I could use some learnin',
On how to stand up to my wife.

So when the class come to town,
I was the first there to claim my bag;
And I giggled like a schoolgirl,
When they handed me my name tag.

The experts spoke of male bonding,
Passiveness, submission, and such;
I'd never heard of a feminine side,
Or knew that men hugged that much!

It didn't take me too long to lose interest,
In this bunch of yellow bellied yuppies;
Not once was "ropin" mentioned,
Or "cow dogs you raised from puppies"!

I expected to hear phrases like,
"It's OK to fish on your wife's birthday";
And, "it's unethical to buy freshly killed flowers",
Or, "Valentines Day ain't a real holiday anyway"!

But instead I was agog and aghast,
At the blasphemy uttered that day;
How can you call yourself a man,
Bawlin' and a carryin' on that way?!!

But comin' away from the seminar
I decided I'm pretty well rounded;
And some of my preconceived stereotypes
Appeared to be mostly unfounded.

So I returned home again,
With a deeper appreciation for life;
Offered to do the evening dishes,
And then perfumed CPR on my wife!

But I couldn't let her think,
That I wasn't the only captain on this boat
So I made sure I put her in her place
And then I promptly passed her the remote!

© 2000 A.G. Nelson