He tethered his horse to the cottonwood tree
And walked slowly up the small hill
A late afternoon on Nebraska’s wide plain
In the air was that cold lonely chill
At the top of the rise he dropped to one knee
Layed the flowers down at the small cross
He had vowed to himself that he wouldn’t break down
At the memory of how much he’d lost
Almost 15 years now since that black winter’s day
When his world had crashed down without warning
The pain filled life and his whole world was changed
Now he no longer smiled at the morning
Such a beautiful child, such a joy to behold
She was like a bright banner unfurled
For a brief time she filled their hearts so full of love
Maybe she was too good for this world
And he took off his hat as his great shoulders shook
He broke down as he always had done
Of the pioneer family that traveled the trail
Sadly he was the very last one
His beloved wife lay where the wagon train rolled
She had not lived to see their new place
With his dear baby daughter he built the small ranch
Made strong by her small loving face
In three years he’d built the place they would call home
With cattle and crops in the field
The winters were kind, he rejoiced every day
At how much the rich land could yield
But the winter of ‘88 crushed many dreams
As the crops and the cattle both died
And along with his dreams went the love of his life
As he stood in the blizzard and cried
For 15 years more he lived on alone
With no purpose, no reason to be
And this morning he knew it was time to move on
He untethered his horse from the tree
He rode slowly away as the cold wind picked up
His thoughts on his daughter Janine
What a fine woman she would be growing into
And the cold wind increased to a scream
The West can be tough and a vast heartless place
Many stories like this have been told
And he slowly rode north and was not seen again
As the prairie wind blew
Cruel and cold
