THE BREAKER’S WALK  



			Have you ever pondered the reasons that be
			why the Breaker walks with his knees in the breeze?
			Why a whole day shines through between each slender thigh?
			Well I’ll tell you the reason why.
			But first you must note that the man isn’t addled
			to want to spend all his days in the saddle,
			but that’s not the cause for the curve of his pants,
			nor the awkward bow-legged stance.

			Well you’ve heard how the old saying goes, of course
			that the wildest of colts makes the best horse
			It’s the Breaker’s job to make that come true,
			but that’s not so easy to do,
			for they fight and they buck and they won’t give an inch
			resenting the band of the hard drawn up cinch
			and the Breaker must stay astride of each toss,
			until he has mastered the hoss.

			But it sometimes occurs that a horse lands a buck
			that catches the Breaker down on his luck,
			and strive as he may and fight as he must
			eventually he will bite the dust.
			But it’s part of the trade to know how to fall,
			tuck up the limbs in a tight curling ball,
			to limit the breaks avoids full defeat,
			so he lands on the flesh of his seat.

			Now it comes with the turf of the career he pursues,
			never to mention the size of the bruise,
			so he grins and he bears it, rubs it and then
			strides back to the horse and mounts it again.
			Yet he knows by the ache in his shoulder and hip
			and the fresh streak of red on his blooded top lip,
			that a good horse will come from this wild bucking colt,
			He could tell by the hard hitting jolt.
	
			And he knows when it’s done he’ll feel old for his age
			and he’ll mutter his curses to lessen his rage
			and he’ll cringe in his legs and he’ll walk with disdain
			and it’s all on account of the pain.
			If you’ve ever been launched from the back of a hoss,
			to land on your seat from the height of the toss,
			If you’ve ever felt numb from the hard jarring hit,
			even you might swear just a bit.

			And well you might ask, how I know what I know,
			well, I apprenticed the Breaker for a year or so,
			I learnt full his trade and the mode of his talk,
			and I mastered the bow-legged walk.
	

			                   *****



			© Lin Parker  2002



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