- \n
- \u201cPonderosa Pine<\/strong>\u201d — An homage to the majestic guardian of Cartwright dreams.<\/li>\n
- \u201cBen\u2019s Advice<\/strong>\u201d — Cherish what you have, for blessings often carry a price<\/li>\n
- \u201cThe Cartwright Brothers, Three<\/strong>\u201d — A sad yet endearing tale of Adam, old and tired, returning to what isn’t quite the empty home he’d expected.<\/li>\n
- \u201cFrom Sea to Saddle<\/strong>\u201d — A sonnet for Adam to honor Pernell’s birthday in response to a challenge posted by Cheaux at the forums.<\/li>\n
- \u201cTo Joe<\/strong>\u201d — When letters don’t suffice, Adam drafts a poem to help Joe understand why he left.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Reviews from old library are on page 2<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Ponderosa Pine
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"renotrip\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/renotrip.jpg?resize=300%2C197&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nXxXxX<\/p>\n
The proud, old ponderosa pine
\nmasthead over mountain seas
\nstands as sentry throughout time
\nguarding dreams and memories:<\/p>\nstalwart men who stole my heart
\nfrom the moment it first came to beat
\ncowboy knights who plied the art
\nof chivalry with courageous feats<\/p>\nfighting outlaws, holding hope
\nteaching truth along the way
\nhelping me to grow and cope
\nwhen the world itself seemed to betray<\/p>\nall that was and what should be
\nand what I knew could be again
\nif I but tried to look, to see
\nthe path to love, to faith, to friends.<\/p>\nWhen words like polished leather shine
\nI\u2019ll rest my pen, my hand, my screen
\nAnd wait for that majestic pine
\nTo ferry me to kindred dreams.<\/p>\nXxXxX<\/p>\n
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![\"ben3\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ben3.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBen\u2019s Advice<\/strong><\/p>\n
*Cherish what you have, for blessings often carry a price\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
XxXxX<\/p>\n
It was a dream, a silly thing,
\nthe kind that makes you shake your head
\nand think about the things you ate
\nor drank before you went to bed.<\/p>\nI found myself conversing with
\na character from long ago,
\nanother time, another place \u2013
\na Technicolor TV show.<\/p>\nHis name was Ben, a gentle man
\nwith sons who made him beam with pride.
\nAlas, he also felt alone;
\nA widower, he\u2019d lost his bride.<\/p>\nIn fact not one, but three he\u2019d loved.
\nThree women, three disparate lives,
\nhad turned his head and found his heart;
\nthree headstrong, independent wives,<\/p>\nhad graced his life, helped build his dreams
\nand given him his three, fine boys,
\neach son unique, a special breed.
\nThey filled his broken heart with joy.<\/p>\nAdam, so like Lancelot,
\nBen\u2019s first-born was a gallant man.
\nHonor and nobility
\nwere always under his command.<\/p>\nEric next, the one called Hoss,
\nwould wrestle bears to save his kin.
\nHe cherished every scrap of life,
\nand never had a thought for sin.<\/p>\nAnd then along came Little Joe,
\na vibrant lad, so quick of heart,
\nhis temperament was fierce and strong,
\nand love, for him, a special art.<\/p>\nYes, Ben was blessed, despite his loss;
\nhis room, his bed, were his alone,
\nand yet his heart and hearth were full
\nwith loving sons, with sense of home.<\/p>\nI gave this gentle Ben a smile,
\nand he gave me some wise advice.
\nHe told me cherish what I have,
\nthough blessings sometimes have a price,<\/p>\nthey also help to fill the voids
\nthat hardships often leave behind;
\nwe must not let the voids fill us\u2014
\nbe brave, be bold, be true, be kind.<\/p>\nI woke refreshed and strong of heart,
\nthe Ponderosa in my grasp,
\nfor Ben had shown me how to see
\nthe light beyond a darkened path.<\/p>\nXxXxX<\/p>\n
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![\"bens-3-sons\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/bens-3-sons.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Cartwright Brothers, Three<\/strong><\/p>\n
***A sad yet endearing tale of Adam, old and tired, returning to what isn’t quite the empty home he’d expected.<\/em><\/p>\n
XxXxX<\/p>\n
At three a.m. I came awake; my eye had spilled a tear.
\nA captured image from a dream had surely placed it there.
\nA tired, old man had made it home to find himself alone.
\nHe stood upon a quiet hill and studied three headstones:<\/p>\nHis brother, Hoss; his father, Ben; and even Little Joe.
\nToo young, too soon, too far away–yet he\u2019d had to let them go.
\nHe bore a weight of might-have-been’s, and what-had-been, and more,
\nBecause he\u2019d felt a need to stray, to wander, to explore.<\/p>\nHe\u2019d left behind one family, and then he\u2019d found another —
\nA wife, a son, a distant dream had replaced his pa and brothers.<\/p>\n\u201cNo,\u201d he cried into the wind; they\u2019d never been replaced.
\nThey still resided in his heart, as did this special place.<\/p>\nThe Ponderosa was his home, no matter where he\u2019d slept.
\nHe saw that truth. He closed his eyes. He dropped his head — and wept\u2026.
\nUntil his youngest brother\u2019s bride crooked his arm in hers
\nAnd led him gently down the hill. There was no need for words.<\/p>\nThey sat together for a while, beside a warming fire.
\nShe studied him and caught his eye; asked, could she please inquire,<\/p>\nWhat it felt like to be there, in that place he\u2019d once called home?
\nHe gazed at her with gleaming eyes, and said it felt \u201calone.\u201d
\nShe shook her head; she smiled wide, and told him, \u201cNot for long!\u201d
\nAt sundown, when the work was done, he\u2019d sing a different song.<\/p>\nThey spent an hour catching up. They spoke of Hoss and Joe,
\nAnd other names — the younger ones he had never come to know.<\/p>\nThen the sky began to darken; and the room began to fill
\nWith familiar smiles and familiar eyes. His brothers were there still,
\nIn the children and the grandchildren they\u2019d brought into this world.
\nHe found himself surrounded by Cartwright boys and girls.<\/p>\nWhen Adam finally caught his breath, the youngest Cartwright there,
\nA girl with Joe\u2019s uncanny gaze and his curly, auburn hair,
\nPlaced her tiny hand in his and bade him, \u201cCome and see.\u201d
\nShe had to introduce him to her older brothers, three.<\/p>\nThe tallest one was Joseph. Eric followed next.
\nThe youngest one, with golden hair, studied him, perplexed,
\nAnd said, \u201cWe\u2019re not a bit alike.\u201d Why should we be the same?
\n\u201cBecause,\u201d the boy said, \u201cobviously, we share the Adam name.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen the dream first came upon me, I, with Adam stood,
\nUpon the hill, beside the graves. I shared his somber mood.
\nBut as the vision conjured more, I felt his sorrow ease.
\nThe story\u2019s sure to carry on for those Cartwright brothers, three.<\/p>\nXxXxX<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
- \u201cBen\u2019s Advice<\/strong>\u201d — Cherish what you have, for blessings often carry a price<\/li>\n
![\"renotrip\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/renotrip.jpg?ssl=1\")
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