A Cowboy Came A Courtin’

 This one he wrote for my Dad, because of a joke he made to Joel about not hurting his daughter -- he joked that he had "a gun and a shovel," so Joel better treat me right! 


A Cowboy Came A Courtin’


As I pulled up to the house, an old cowboy leaned on the fence.

Should a known what was comin’ but I always did lack good sense.

Saw steel inn his eyes, iron will in the set of his jaw;

Measurin’ me with those eyes, I knew he didn’t like what he saw.

 

A prayer on my lips, cowboy hat in my hand, I swallowed my fear

‘Fore my first step, he spoke, “I know who ya are. Know why ya’ here.

I’ll tell ya straight off, I’m an old cowboy with little to lose.

I got a gun and a shovel to bury you, if I so chose!

My little girl’s been hurt enough by men the likes of you.

I’m telling you now, leave her be. Now what are you gonna do?”

 

“Well, Sir,” says I, “I’ll tell ya what all I have come to know.

Jesus Christ’s my Lord, so with all due respect to you, I’ll go.

But first my I speak to you, Sir, and show you what’s on my heart?”

“Can’t see how that’ll  hurt me none,” he said, “before you depart.”

 

“Well, Sir, I know your daughter’s more precious to you than life.

And I come to you, with my intentions to make her my wife!

I brought a ring, love, and devotion, all sent from God above.

And most of all, faith, that Jesus Himself showed me my True Love.

In faith I stand before you, with divine respect for your role

As her Daddy, to gain your blessing and permission, my goal.

Without it, in respect, I’ll leave, before she and I have met.

As I’ve done, I’ll continue – the Lord’s will is all I’ve sought –

Till with your blessing, before God and family, we tie the knot.”

 

~ by Joel Purkerson

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Faithful Promise

  Joel spent the next few years trying to find help, and was finally getting some treatment for his mental problems, although it wouldn't be until after we married in 2001 that he would finally get a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the meantime, he spent countless hours reading and researching, trying to find help for himself, since the mental health system was not doing its job. He wrote this poem several years before we met, looking to the future, when he might find the person he was meant to be with. The Faithful Promise When I was young, as I talked to God, I looked up at the sky Counting the stars that He made as each night went by   Then as a man looking for mine, I found to my dismay The star that God gave me was missing, and is to this day   A black spot in the heavens where it is supposed to be I’ll feel incomplete till I find it, that star belongs to me   I ran crying to God and asked Him to help me in my plight “My son, worry...
Read more

The Unsung Soldier

  This poem was written as a tribute to Joel's parents, for the years they spent praying for their children. The Unsung Soldier (Based on Eph. 6:13-18)   Soldiers are known by the uniforms they wear Battles they fought by the scars that they bear Their courage and valor by the medals on their chests Their bravery and sacrifice praised by those they protect   The foe that was slain laid to rest in a grave In death they are honored for the life they gave Centuries of conflicts evident for all to see The blood that they shed written down in our history   But there exists in this world a soldier unknown by most Camouflaged in humility with no desire to boast Battle after battle faithfully they fight Alone on their knees in the still silence of the night   Their tears never seen, cries of pain never heard Their victories unknown, they bear it all without a word With a smile on their lips and kind word on their tongue Hidden sc...
Read more

For Marilyn and Lyman Carpenter

  This is the last poem I found. It was among some letters my Mom had kept. It's a poem Joel wrote to my parents at some point before my Dad died in 2006. Looking back at my life And all that I have lost, The years of constant strife, Tears and pain with great cost   Experience has taught The skill of how to “see,” What I have and have not, And the cost of what’s “free”   Now in church, where I’m faced With all that I have now, My God’s Blessings and Grace, Harvest where I didn’t plow   From my Heart, I now share My gratitude for what you do, And just how much I care, I thank God for both of you   ~ by Joel Purkerson
Read more