Duke Davis is a friend of mine and is dang sure doing his part to spread the gospel of the cowboy. This collection of poems from his pen is an indication of the knowledge and love he has for the West and her most favorite son, the cowboy. Right on, Duke, you done good.
— Red Steagall, Western Entertainer

Duke Davis is a tremendous cowboy poet, probably because he has spent a lot of time around good cowboys and enjoyed the cowboy life himself. He has the God-given talent to put a bad wreck or a good happening into poetry form and make it enjoyable. If you like good cowboy poetry, you will really enjoy this book.
— Tuffy Cooper, Cowboy/Rancher

The imagination Duke conveys through his verse is as vast as the great American West itself. Ride with him.
— Larry McWhorter, Cowboy Poet

Duke's poetry ­ whether stories he has heard or about his friends ­ is full of inspiration. Ron Kil has done some fine drawings that go with the poetry, just like a fine silver bit in a good horse's mouth. This is a great addition to the Cowboy Miner Productions library.
— Gary Morton, Cowboy Artist

Duke Davis, originally from Schertz, Texas, just northeast of San Antonio, is known worldwide as a Western music entertainer. As a cowboy poet, he was selected as the Official Cowboy Poet Laureate of Santa Clarita, California, in 1993. His works have been published in the Livestock Journal, the Horse Gazette, Texas Heritage Foundation publication, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Foundation and numerous other cowboy lifestyle publications.

Duke is a cowboy, musician, songwriter, producer, poet, roper, actor, and horseman. As a man of the saddle, he has day worked on ranches all over the West.

He and his wife, Ruthie, run Rockin' Double 'D' Productions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they produce Western music and cowboy poetry albums. In addition, they organize the Annual New Mexico Cowboy Classic in Red River, New Mexico, and the Annual New Mexico State Championship Ranch Rodeo in Santa Fe. They also serve as advisors for many of the cowboy gatherings around the West.

Presently, he and Ruthie live in Lamy, New Mexico, where he owns and operates the High Mesa Horse Ranch.

Ron Kil is a New Mexico cowboy and artist who has worked on ranches and feedlots all over the West. In addition to holding down cowboy jobs in his home state of New Mexico, his travels have taken him to jobs in Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Arizona and California.

As an artist, Ron works in oil, watercolor and ink, depicting the West of the past and present, with a decided preference for the past.

An avid hunter and shooter, Ron is also a proud member of the NRA. He currently manages the Bonanza Creek Ranch south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they raise Longhorn cattle and crossbreeds. Along with his wife, Sheila, and daughter, Corrina, they live the cowboy life they love so much.

Duke Davis
The Old Cocinero

The old cocinero stared into the fire and sang an old Spanish song.
Words that he had sung since the time when he was young,
And he rode the trail up north from Mexico.
He stirred up the fire and the flames leapt higher,
And he felt the cowboy's passion and the love
But the dancing golden sparks faded off into the dark
Disappearing in the night sky up above

He rode for the brand, he'd been a top cowhand
But now he rassles pots for the crew
In his mind he goes back to those days of markin' track
On the trail with the men that he knew
His eyes grew damp as he looked across the camp
And he thought of those compadres now long gone
In their prime they'd won the battle - snappin' broncs, cuttin' cattle -
Now their range is taken over by their sons

His tired bones are aching and he knows the west is changing
And he wonders why things have to move so fast
Then a dream of silver bridles comes shining from the shadows
Like an ember that's half-buried in the ash.
Like a Spanish song he's sung since the time when he was young,
And he rode the trail up north from Mexico

This changin' of the guard was a blow that struck him hard.
They've forgotten who he was and what he did
After all the risks he took, he's just an old camp cook
Ridin' night hawk for a cavvy full of kids

You tie your knots, in the end that's all you've got
And these boys will tie theirs hard and fast and true
And, Lord, they're brave and bold like vaqueros of old
Who rode the range back when the West was new

Like raindrops without number, the shooting stars of summer
Are the good luck that the new day will bring.
In the hour before sunrise, soaking apples for the day's pies,
He leans against the wagon box and sings
A Spanish song he's sung, since the time when he was young
And he rode the trail up north from Mexico
The old cocinero stared east toward the sunrise and sang an old Spanish song

©1997 Kerry Grombacher & Duke Davis, a collaboration on the Grombacher original

June 2000 Release - Numbered Edition - $20.00
ISBN 0-9662091-4-1