and stared down the mountainside
the horse, never at ease with standing
unless grazing, looked back
the cowboy smiled and patted its shoulder
then turned it and looked back also
looked down onto the mountainside and valley
where he'd spent most of his life
all of it since his voice stopped cracking
he smiled and thought a moment on that boy
so eager to become a man and get on
with what he imagined life would offer
impatient with his father's farm
glad to learn a horseman's ways
and now the world had mostly outgrown
its use for horsemen, he smiled again
looked where he'd met his wife
never having imagined a wife
and where he'd buried her
never having imagined life without her
he looked at all the places that he'd ridden
and those he'd never, from here they looked the same
he'd never ridden up so far, always imagined
this new side of the mountain would look the same
he turned the horse again, looked down the new side
no, nothing looked familiar
he touched the horse's sides with his heels
began his curious descent
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