My interest in poetry was sparked by a friend who had invited us to a luncheon sponsored by an organization to which he belonged. He recited a classical poem from memory, with feeling and confidence. I was mesmerized by the beauty of spoken poetry. My second exposure a few years later was while watching the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Each year, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, he would invite a couple of Cowboy Poets to recite their work on his show as an advertisement to the annual cowboy poets roundup in Elko, Nevada, to be held in January. I particularly enjoyed Baxter Black and Wally McRae.  I purchased a cowboy poetry book, and began memorizing some of my favorites. A short time later, when I deployed to Korea, leaving the family in Texas, I found myself with lots of spare time with not much to do. I started writing poetry on my own.  In the following pages are some of my poems, along with the stories behind them.