Sons of Thunder

By Bronco T

Upon the wind so fierce and strong, it came rolling on, on,
Rolling thunder, dreadful sound, his ear it burst upon.

Across the mighty western plain, country loath to tame,
It came fiercely, dust and rain gusting, twisting as it came.

A shiver walked across his spine and made his skin to crawl,
The voice it came, so soft, still, incessantly the call.

“Oh son of man, son of man look well and you will see,
Sons of Thunder riding hard, who would have words with thee.”

Upon the storm tossed sky he spied, men upon their steed,
Hooves a’slashin’ through the air, coming hard with speed.

And to his gaze they did appear, to thunder to the ground,
Upon each horse’s hoof he saw shoes of gold was found.

They flashed with brilliance as they came along the sunlit way,
If finer horses he’d ever seen, he really couldn’t say.

A blood red bay the leade’rs horse, behind him was a dun,
Brilliant copper color glowing, bronze there in the sun.

Running smoothly was a black, so black he glistened blue,
And charging neck and neck with him a grulla’ came to view.

Taking up the rear he saw, bounding from the air,
Sunlight glistenin’ in her hair, a mighty steel gray mare.

Thunder rollin’ as they came, him shaken to the core,
Terror mirrored in his eyes, for what there was in store.

Who were these men, with horses fine who bolted from the sky,
And what was that the voice had said and what did it imply ?

He waited there to face his doom, for that it seemed to be,
In his heart a prayer he thought, and on his lips a plea.

Oh, good Lord, who are these men who come here with the thunder,
Are they here to take my life, and my immortal soul to plunder ?

On they came relentlessly, they did not spur or whip,
Effortlessly they seemed to glide, across the country slip.

With their mounts a comin’ hard, across a wash did vault,
Until into the yard they thundered, a slidin’ to a halt.

The men upon the mighty backs of each of these great mounts,
Were ridin’ punchy saddles with all the gear that counts.

Canvas dusters white from desert sunshine, wrapped around their back,
And perched above each weathered brow, a wide felt hat of black.

Leggins made of the finest hide, all well used and oiled,
Told him that these men were hands, with cattle they had toiled.

Upon their feet he noticed then, the ridin’ boots they wore,
Were custom made and spurs of silver each shinin’ boot heel bore.

Each man who sat his horse, was cowboy through and through, But what they wanted here with him, he had not a clue.

The leader of the group then spoke, a mounted on the bay,
As with a silken handkerchief, he wiped the sweat away.

“Son now don’t be frightened, you’ll see I’m your pard,
We’ve come to ask a favor, one that won’t be hard.”

“A brother that you know so well, on hard times has fallen,
It’s because of him you see, that we’ve come a callin’.”

“We know that he’s a rounder, with a love for drink and play,
And that he wore his welcome out, at your house the other day.”

“But we’re askin’ that you help ‘im, in his locoed state,
So put away your arrogance, and smother all your hate.”

“Only you and you alone, can touch his jaded heart,
And lead him back into the fold, where he can then take part.”

“Through the blood of Christ he can, have his soul restored,
And then true joy and happiness, into his life be poured.”

“So you see it’s for this reason, that we’ve come to call,
For you see he is our brother too, and in sadness we saw him fall.”

“So do not fail your brother, in his earthly plight,
Go and lift him by the hand, and struggle with your might.”

“For God has said in Heaven, the worth of souls is great,
Make sure your work starts quickly now, and do not hesitate.”

“The time is short on earth you see, and you don’t have long,
So work well while you can ol’ pard, and sing a happy song.”

“And please don’t judge your brother, judgin’ is a lofty role,
But by the grace of God go thee, don’t jeopardize your soul.”

With this his words were ended, he turned his horse away,
And each touched his hat brim, as if he would say.

“We’re with you pard so do not fail, this brother that we love,
And we’ll see you in a better land, there in our home above.”

Suddenly I came awake, upon my sweat soaked sheet,
A listenin’ to the rain drops, hit the roof with lively beat.

I leaped upon my feet and tore, curtains from window sill,
And looked upon the rainy view with which my eyes did fill.

For there on the horizon, my wondrous eyes did spy,
Five well mounted heavenly cowboys, as horses leapt into the sky.


This is an unusual poem in that I woke up at 2:00 a.m. , and began writing on it until it was done five hours later. My only brother and I had experienced a falling out and had no contact with each other for a while and I think this poem was given to me to soften my heart towards him.