Easter Greeting featuring cowboy poem"That Fateful Day" by Woody Woodruff

I was ridin' in from checkin' fence
It was gettin' sorta late
I decided to cross the ridge through the Aspen grove
A short cut to our gate

As the Bay brought me to the top
In the shadows I saw a man
He looked as if he was talkin'
By the way he moved his hands

Yet, he stood there all alone
His head pointed towards the sky
I reined the Bay up to a halt
And didn't pass him by

It was then, I realized it was Bill
An old cowhand from the ranch
I pulled the Bay up near a tree
And hid there behind a branch

In the silence I could hear him speak
I'll never forget what he had to say
Bill was talkin' man to man with God
These are the words I heard him say

Lord, he said, it's old Bill here
I know it's been quite awhile
I used to think that prayin'
Well, that prayin' just weren't my style

Somehow I've always had the notion
To pray you were askin' for favors and such
So I never got into the habit
I always seemed to have so much

Then the other day I got to thinkin'
How you've blessed me everyday
That even through the hardest times
You never once did stray

Yes Sir, you've stayed right here with me
Through all my 80 years
The words Bill were sayin'
They brought me near to tears

Bill said, Lord, I haven't come to ask for favors
It's thanks I've come to say
For all the deeds you've done for me
And never once asked for pay

I, thank you Lord for this Aspen grove
For the blue up in the sky
The tall grass down in the meadow
The clear water that passes by

Thank you Lord for the mountains high
Their peaks covered a snowy white
For all the stars each night that shine
It's such a beautiful sight

The mustangs runnin' free on the range
The mavericks we gather in early spring
The Eagle soaring above my head
Lord, I thank you for everything

Thank you for all the good friends I've had
Through the years I've had quite a few
As I get older, I now understand
They were there because of you

Lord, I thank you most for my 80 years
And the few I have left to go
And Lord, thank you for lettin' me cowboy
I've truly loved it so

With that Bill mounted up, then headed off
Leavin' me...my eyes wide open to see
For until then I just took things for granted
That day...I came to believe

It's been nearly forty years now
Since Bill stood in that grove of trees
But, his words are still here with me
I hope they never leave

Like Bill, I too am so thankful
For oh so very much
And ever since that Fateful Day
Me and the Lord...we stay in touch.

About The Author......WOODY WOODRUFF

2005 ACADEMY OF WESTERN ARTISTS
COWBOY POET OF THE YEAR (male)

Woody Woodruff was born in Hickman Co. Kentucky. He and Carla, his wife of thirty years, have been blessed with 3 daughters and son-in-laws. They have 3 granddaughters and 1 grandson. Woody is first and foremost, a family man who is very proud of his family and is always ready to share information about them and pictures of them. Visit his web site and you will find posted by this proud father and grandfather,an abundance of photos of his clan. http://www.woodywoodruff.org

After spending his early years in west Tennessee and west Kentucky he moved to Nacogdoches, Texas for a few years then in the mid 80's moved back to Tennessee to Centerville (Home of Minnie Pearl), 50 miles west of Nashville. Woody has always had a strong love for the west and the western way of life. He owned horses for years; and spent 12 years as manager of Country Gold Farms, a Quarter horse operation just outside of Nashville. Although he has written stories and poetry most of his life, in the 90s he devoted his writing to the west and the cowboy way of life.

He calls himself "the World-Wide Unknown Poet" but that belies the facts. Woody has received many honors over the years culminating with being named the Cowboy Poet ( male) of the year 2005 by The Academy Of Western Artists. In 2004, he was top ten finalist for that honor along with the poetry CD of the year. In 2004,he was chosen to play an extra in the movie, "The Secret Life of Daltry Calhoun" that was released in 2005.

     Woody says this about his poem, "That Fateful Day " :
   "I'm here only because of THAT FATEFUL DAY. Even though I had written for a long time it was when I wrote this poem that I began recording. I felt it was good enough to be recorded and sent it to a few artists. I'd never recorded before, but people told me I should cut it. So we did a demo. I sent it to Jo Hargrave and apologized for it being a demo. She called me to say don't apologize as it made her cry and would be on her show the next day. Then other stations started playing it. Then people got to asking for more so we cut a full CD of my poems. I hope to have a second CD in a couple months."

    You can read more of the poetry of Woody Woodruff at   http://www.cowboypoetry.com/woody.htm

To Contact Woody:
Write to: 983 Pike Lane, Centerville, TN 37033
Call: 615-418-2164
Email: woody@woodywoodruff.org

The image at the top of the page is courtesy of Cowboy Crusade Ministries.
The artist is Gary Hartle from Agua Dulce, CA. http://www.cowboycrusadeministries.org/services.html

Under copyright protection. The poem and the artwork on this web page may not be excerpted, copied, or reproduced, used or performed in any form (graphic, electronic or mechanical) without the express written permission of the author or artist.