Meet my dad, Harold Horner, this Father’s Day, 2024. He was a lifelong cowboy who loved his a job dearly. Also Dad loved to dance! Here are two of my poems about Dad in written format and in audio format from my new audiobook, This Tumbleweed Landed.
Dad’s Special Move on the Dance Floor
No one did it his way!
He slithered into the next move
with a step like no one else, graceful and fun.
He said he got drunk one night, stumbled,
liked how it felt,
and decided to keep it.
I wish one of his male offspring had learned it;
one of his dancers, Bub or Wade,
but it’s gone now—with Dad. I dream about it—
the illusive move that felt so good and united me with him.
Mom and I can do it!
But it just was not the same.
It was his move!
Larada Horner, This Tumbleweed Landed, (Horner Publishing Company, 2014), 21.
Listen to the audio of this poem:
Memories of the Ranch
East of Branson,
one-half mile starts
the Horner ranch!
My granddad put it together
in the late 1920s—
quite a feat during the Depression.
Granddad and Dad worked side by side.
Many years of
a teamwork so instinctual
words were not needed.
Dad gave it his life,
a life full of
potential bodily harm
and deep, deep joy and satisfaction.
Warmhearted memories abound...
memories of our land, horses, cattle.
Time three generations spent together:
My granddad,
my dad,
and Sue, Bub, and me.
Larada Horner, This Tumbleweed Landed, (Horner Publishing Company, 2014), 65-66.
Listen to the audio of this poem:
Finally,
Last week I shared a story about a watermelon rind fight from my new audiobook. This week I wanted to feature poems I wrote about my dad, celebrating Father’s Day. When I remember Dad, I smell leather and sweat. I see a man who wore a long-sleeved western shirt, jeans and boots every day out to the ranch. In the summer, Dad wore a straw cowboy hat; in the winter, he wore a felt cowboy hat. He prided himself on old-fashion morals and standards: be honest, a handshake was as good as a contract and family came first, above all else.
Because he had asthma, during World War II he had a 4F rating and couldn’t volunteer or enlist. So he helped the different ranchers in the area who had sons who went to fight. He shared many stories about the Dick Louden ranch and the fun he had there—it was his favorite!
He absolutely loved his life!
Dad died January 6, 1996—that date altered my life forever. When Father’s Day comes up every year, nostalgia sets in and I remember Dad. These poems share some of my heartfelt memories and feelings! Many people romanticize cowboys—I actually lived with one and saw who he really was—my hero!
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Grab When Will Papa Get Home? this week for $.99 until June 20 on Amazon. A great after-Father’s Day gift!
Enjoy my interview on the podcast, The Writing Table
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