The Lucky Hat
By Connie Rossignol
Most folks that live
the rural life
An’ spend their time outside
Will have a kinda "favorite hat"
They wear to work or ride.
Sometimes it even
gets to be
A sorta "lucky charm"
That keeps you safe or send your loop
To settle ‘round the horns.
This ain’t some
brand new fancy hat
Like western stores would sell.
It’s one that’s seen some right hard use
A hat you’ve worn a spell.
One like an ole
sombrero
I’ve had 10 or 15 years
The one that stretched and dragged the brim
Right down atop my ears.
The crease is now a
bit unique
With hoofprints here an’ there.
The color just a tad obscured
With wormer, dust an’ hair.
It’s well broke-in,
it fits me good.
But even more than that,
The most important thing by far...
This here’s my lucky hat.
It’s the one that I
was wearin’
When the appy horse went down
In a chug hole in the Rio Grande
I coulda easily drowned!
But that ole pony
found his feet
Which saved us both, no doubt!
My hat was only slightly wet
So I just wrung it out.
I had it on the day
the dun horse
Overreached an’ fell
When his hind foot caught the trailer
Or a front shoe down the hill.
I went off his right
shoulder
But I rolled an’ tumbled free
Neither one of us was crippled.
That was lucky - seems to me!
It was this ole hat I
wore
When that black jenny run me down
And I only had a rope burn
When I got up off the ground.
An’ the time the
red mule bucked me off?
Now, that was quite a wreck!
I was wearin’ this exact same hat...
An’ didn’t break my neck!
So you see - this hat
is lucky
Or at least from where I sit...
Why it’s just pure luck I ain’t been killed
While I was wearin’ it!
Don't ya just love her poems? We are still trying to persuade Connie to follow up on all this great writing and do some readings at some Cowboy festivals and such. If you know of any place that might like Connie to read please get in touch with us. There is a link to us at the homepage.
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