The Streets Of Durango Poem by Cowboy Ron Williams

Yesterday I was walking down
one of the main streets
of Durango, Colorado
wearing my cowboy hat
and best pair of boots.

I've been retired from
the rodeo circuit for many years,
but that's the way I always dress
because it is so comfortable.

As I was standing, looking at something
in a store window, a little boy about
six years old approached with his dad.

He stopped and stared at me and said:
"Are you a real cowboy? "

"Yup, " I replied.

His eyes shone with admiration.
"Where's your horse? " he asked.

"Oh, " I countered, "I left him down
the street at the blacksmith shop.
He needed a new front shoe."

He turned to his dad and said:
"That's what I want to be when I grow up."
I could tell right away that his father
was not very comfortable with that.

I said, "Boy, there ain't no more use for
us cowboys. I'm the last of a dying breed.
You go to college and get a real good job
that can pay the bills. Be a doctor or a lawyer
or something else, but don't never be no cowboy! "