The Lonely Big-Yonder

The Lonely Big-Yonder

A man needs time to himself now and then
To quietly face his fears and flaws
A moment to pray and engage God undisturbed
To chew on compliance with His laws

For cowboys that begs the lonesome places
Where mountains rise defiant and proud
To be cloud-hugged 'bout the shoulders while
Clothed in a forest's verdant, thick shroud

I want to go there solo a'horseback Lord
Out beyond the weight of a cell phone's reach
Take me a hundred miles beyond pavement
Free of every newscaster and politician's speech

The blue sky must be big and open
Sullied only by Your big white clouds
Beyond power lines and contrails
Unpolluted by the madding crowds

The pace slows; the world makes sense again
When I'm surrounded by my Maker's show
It is right and proper to feel at home there
On the undefiled land God built long ago

I'll marvel at the tallgrass prairie's expanse
Where my kind has yet to scar by plow
The solitude steeps me in reverent peace
Calmly settling me in the here and now

Oh the glorious rivers and blue-line streams
The endless lakes where waters collect
A man is relentlessly compelled by them
To quietly come, gratefully rejoice and reflect

Those seasons I spend in lost canyons
Be they be made grand or narrow
Ever leave me appropriately speechless
With restoration in my soul's marrow

Submitting to the demand of my knees
I nod gratitude to these quiet preserves
Reveling in my long, deep breathing and
This foretaste of heaven's hors d'oeuvres

Spying a sentinel eagle on a snag
Or imposing, wet tracks of a big griz
A man is strongly led to contemplate
How utterly insignificant, and not, he truly is

If he will calmly pause quiet and still
On the unfrequented range of the wild ones
He might parley with the wapiti and pronghorn
To once again grasp he is the Son's

Lead me to the uncrowded desert Lord
Time to time take me back to open land
Though I'm just passing through this place
Free me from being facial-recognition scanned

In the works of your hands is where I reside
It's where I have room to breathe and ponder
Keep me from the cramped, irreverent cities
Oh toss me out in Your "Lonely Big-Yonder"

by Rik Goodell

© 2022. All rights reserved

I continue to be grateful for the generosity of the Price family in agreeing to allow me to post a copy of this painting alongside my work.

See more of this artist's work at https://clarkkelleyprice.com/