I'm sitting in the saddle,
Near two thousand head of cattle,
And the wind and rain cut through me like a knife.
Far away a storm is brewing,
I hope the boss knows what he's doing,
Else I think the herd might make a run tonight.

Out in the distance I hear thunder,
Then lightening splits the night asunder,
And the cattle start out on their frightened run.
Every drover's called to duty,
This storm will be a beauty,
But we'll lose some of our friends before it's done.

From my position at the rear,
I see what every cowboy fears,
A sea of hooves and horns and flesh and bone.
Travelling ever faster,
Sounding like the Devils laughter,
And I wish to God I'd never left my home.

I see Paul Reilly's horse go down,
His screams are drowned out by the sound,
Of the thunder and the lightening and the herd.
The trail boss is screaming his commands,
From far away as best he can,
But I can't hear a solitary word.

So I spur my horse for greater speed,
And pretty soon I'm in the lead,
My pistol spitting lead and smoke and flame,
In the faces of the steers,
To give them something else to fear,
But onward, ever on those doggies came.

Then I realized we're on the top,
Of a plateaux and the drop,
Is drawing ever closer as we ride.
The herd cannot be turned,
All our bridges have been burnt,
And whatever we do now is suicide.

So I said, "Goodbye", to Ben, my horse,
And said a silent prayer, of course,
And hoped God could forgive me of my sins.
I hoped my wife won't grieve too long,
And finds the strength to carry on,
And prepared for my eternity to begin.

Then throwing myself from the saddle,
Straight into that sea of cattle,
But by some miracle I'm missed by every hoof.
And I heard a soft voice whisper, "Drover,
Lay still, it will soon be over".
I know it's hard to believe but that's the truth.

I must have passed out then, I guess.
Because I don't recall the rest,
Until I woke up in this bed back at the ranch.
You say we lost all the men, but me,
And the whole herd except twenty three,
For at that speed, no-one would stand a chance.

But they say, on the trail, where I was found,
The cattle's hoof tracks went around,
Not over me, like something barred their way.
What could it be? Nobody knows.
It's a mystery, I suppose,
That cannot be explained, unto this day.

As for me, I think I know,
I could never prove it though,
I couldn't then and doubt I ever will.
But I believe an Angel came,
And for reasons I can't explain,
Bade a frightened drover, to lie still.

By S.E.Ralph…

23-8-2016