On a visit to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, I bought a book called Coyote Cowboy Poetry from a local antique store. Written by Baxter Black and published in 1986, the book is full of entertaining and straight forward thoughts from a person whose bio describes him as an American Cowboy, Poet, and Western Humorist. One doesn’t have to be a cowboy for his words to resonate.
I would like to share one of those poems here. For all the partners, spouses, and couples, the ones that built together, started from scratch, and sacrificed together, the silent ones laying the foundation for the exuberant ones, the behind the scenes ones to those in the spotlight, the worker bees to the queen bee, the ones who know the business and how it works but remain in the shadows for that not-so-silent-partner, the ones who take care of the incidentals so the big stuff can happen, and so many more too numerous to mention…The Silent Partner is for all and is timeless. Its message is clear. Appreciation. Humility. Equality. Acknowledgment.
As for Black, born in 1945, he is a former veterinarian who has written a number of books, all still available for purchase.
The Silent Partner
By Baxter Black
Her name’s on the note at the PCA, boys,
Though she might have questioned the loan
She signed her John Henry ‘neath yours on the line
And she will ‘til the kids are all grown.
Nobody’s counted the pickups she’s pulled
Or measured the miles she’s put on the rake
Kept track of the pancakes or lunches she’s packed
Or the number of times she lay there awake
Praying her prayers for the man in her bed
God only knows, ‘cause He’s keepin’ track.
She’s buildin’ up interest somewhere down the line
To use in a trade on your first cardiac.
She puts up with cows she knows you should cull
Scourin’ calves on the livin’ room floor,
Tracks in the bathroom and mud on the sheets,
Flies in the kitchen from broken screen doors.
She patiently listens to stories you tell
Recounting the skill of your blue heeler mate.
She wishes, herself, if that dog was so smart
You could teach that pot licker to open a gate!
She offers opinions that seldom sink in
‘Til time, oft as not, proves she was right.
But it’s damn hard to figger how she coulda known?
You’re not the only one who worries at night.
She’s old as the mountain and young as the spring
Timeless in labor and wisdom and love.
Of all of God’s creatures that man gets to share
The wife of a cowman was sent from above.
So lay there tonight when you go to bed.
Remember your partner, she’s tried and she’s true.
You’re lucky, my man, to have such a friend
Take care of her, ‘cause she takes care of you.
Illustration by Don Gill, as seen in the book
