Category: Apache

BrooksLooks@ Paradise

~ Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks ~ Leave a comment

Paradise

FROM DOS CABEZAS THROUGH THE WINTER
INTO A SMOKY MOUNTAIN SPRING
ON THESE CAROLINA BACK ROADS
SWORE HE’D NEVER TRADE FOR ANYTHING

ALWAYS HEADED TO SOME MAGIC PLACE OUT WHERE
THOSE CROOKED ROADS HE KNOWS WILL TAKE HIM THERE
TO A PLACE, A PARADISE OF WHICH HE’S FOND
OUT ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, ABOVE AND BEYOND

HE PASSED THROUGH OOSTBURG IN THE AUTUMN
STOCKBRIDGE IN THE SPRING
CAN’T REMEMBER WHERE HOME IS NOW
OR IF THAT STILL MEANS A THING

TAKE ME BACK WITHOUT A CARE
TO A PLACE LIKE HOME, I WONDER WHERE
LET ME CATCH MY BREATH AND STARE
STRAIGHT AHEAD INTO THE FOREST THERE
IN THIS HOME ON THE ROAD TO EVERYWHERE
ON THE ROAD HOME IS ANYWHERE

ONCE HE KNEW THE CHIRICAHUA LANDS,
ALGONQUIN, CHEROKEE
HE KNEW THE LAND OF IROQUOIS
APACHE SPIRITS SET HIM FREE

IT WAS ALLEGHENIES IN THE MORNING
BERKSHIRES THROUGH MIDDAY
BLUE RIDGE SUNSETS IN THE EVENING
SWEET SHEBOYGAN ON THE WAY

IT WAS A GOLDEN AGE IN TIME THEY SAY
MOST EVERYTHING WENT HIS WAY
AND ON HE WENT SWEPT AWAY
LIFE’S CURRENT TOOK HIM HIGHER, FURTHER ON EACH DAY

IT WAS UNIQUE A ONE-WAY TRIP IN TIME
MOMENTS SAVORED AND SUBLIME
UNTIL HE REACHED PARADISE ON HIS DYING DAY
NO REGRETS AT ALL THEY HEARD HIM SAY

TAKE ME BACK WITHOUT A CARE
TO A PLACE LIKE HOME I WONDER WHERE
LET ME CATCH MY BREATH AND STARE
STRAIGHT INTO THE FOREST THERE
IN THIS HOME ON THE ROAD TO EVERYWHERE
ON THE ROAD MY HOME COULD BE ANYWHERE

© COPYRIGHT 2014 BROOKS BRADBURY ǀ Brooks Looks

BrooksLooks@ Rising Above

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RISE ABOVE
Brooks Bradbury

we sucked the marrow out of life back then
took crooked roads that brought us back again
found our way into strange new lands
said goodbye to our best laid plans

and it ain’t easy but we rise above
remember all we have’s our own sweet love
try to hide it on our faces–life’s true toll
we all know the times that try one’s soul

ain’t no telling what’s to become
ain’t no telling now where we’re from
ain’t no telling down from up above
all we’ve got’s our own sweet love

dancin’ to the beat of our distant drum
still, life keeps pushin’ us all around some
and it ain ‘t easy but we rise above
we keep believin’ and we rise above

i miss sweet desert mornings
on the chaparral with you
Chiricahua cowgirl what will you do
you’re my only home, my sanity
Chiricahua cowgirl come set me free

and it ain ‘t easy but we rise above
remember all we have is our own sweet love
try to hide it on our faces life’s true toll
we surely know the times that try one’s soul

will we ever finish this human race
are we going forward or stuck in place
will there ever be a fine new age
or more and more rage until we finally turn the page

and it ain ‘t easy but we rise above
remember all we have is our own sweet love
and it ain ‘t easy but we rise above
remember all we have is our sweet love

© Copyright 2014 Brooks Bradbury ǀ Brooks Looks

BrooksLooks@ The Crooked Road

~ Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks ~ Leave a comment
if you’re a soul on the road less trod
people think you’re kind of odd
dancer to the different beat
of distant drums with footloose feet
 
in faraway places where trails are less traveled
modern trappings have all unraveled
unknown beauty in pristine places
of country folk and simple graces
 
stallions and canyons and pure fresh air
common sense is common there
days arrive in bright sunrises
and Mother Nature still surprises
 
we came to where there’s so much less
found plenty more and nonetheless
way out yonder in the wild west
are many ways to feel truly blessed
 
i wouldn’t change this crooked road
the sights we’ve seen nor the souls we’ve known
though moving around this much in life
is much too often if you ask my wife
 
we think about all the places we’ve been
a tapestry of time–and now and then
we imagine home–a humble space
to be enjoyed in a beautiful place
 
with much to ponder and recollect
perhaps there’s time we can reflect
that the best is really yet to be
though all the rest was fine with me

Copyright © 2013 Brooks Bradbury | Brooks Looks

BrooksLooks@ Tears in Chiricahua

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TEARS IN CHIRICAHUA

ancient chiricahua
sacred long ago
now called arizona
their ancestral home

their mountains and
their grasslands
the places
they roamed then
now only traces
of ‘nde chokonen

generations came before them
unknown apache heirs
native blood spilled often
defending what was theirs

who then one day atones
for all their broken hearts
and each apache broken bone
their bodies died yet sanctify
their chiricahuas still
unbroken native spirits
unbroken native will

their voices whisper in the silence
spirits roam now without fears
when it rains in chiricahua
it rains apache tears

© Brooks Bradbury | BrooksLooks

BrooksLooks@ Chiricahua Cowboy

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CHIRICAHUA COWBOY
Brooks Bradbury
September 2013

the cook reported longhorns
were coming in the gate
buckaroos at breakfast
some were in the bunk house
some were sleeping late

prit’ near eight mean corriente
ambled right up the old dirt road
pointy horns a glinting
they lumbered to and fro
they were free range beef with attitude
and in one by one they filed
danged if they didn’t git past the cattle grates
like a farside cartoon gone wild

chiricahua cowboy
he’s on his horse again
we never know why
we never know when
but he’s the hope of arizona
least from gleeson to portal
the chiricahua cowboy
he’s the one that gets the call
any time ‘r oyster’s are up against the wall
the chiricahua cowboy, he will save us all!

one was udderly female
it was plainly clear to see
queen of the rodeo heifers
another rather bullish one
he kept eyeing me

the chiricahua cowboy
he sauntered into view
he wore his leather jacket with fringe
smelled like beer and last night’s stew
boxer shorts and cowboy boots
his pants still in his room

he had spurs, a whip, two forty-fives
and he was itching for a feud
the chiricahua cowboy
lost big at poker and love last night
he was one big angry dude

he was ready to settle the score
and put those beeves back in the pen
a beefly duel was coming on, it seemed
while in the sage, fresh cowpies steamed
the heifer huddled the others then
weight was shifted
horns were pointed
the beeves they thundered in

all of a sudden the brawl commenced
bull whip cracked and bullets flying
eight corriente turned tail to run
in the end they met their bovine match
chiricahua cowboy was smilin’
as he blew smoke from the end of his gun
chiricahua cowboy rounded ‘em up right then
they were beaten like hamburger and locked in the pen

“next time you come round here
the butcher’ll make it cut and dried
and make little parts out of those carcasses
and wallets from yer hide!

chiricahua cowboy
he’s on his horse again
we never know why
we never know when
but he’s the hope of arizona
least from willcox to portal
the chiricahua cowboy
he’s the one that gets the call
any time ‘r oyster’s are up against the wall
the chiricahua cowboy, he done saved us all!
chiricahua cowboy–no one rides as tall!

© Brooks Bradbury / Innspired Hospitality

BrooksLooks @ Back of Beyond

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BACK OF BEYOND
Brooks Bradbury

BEATEN DOWN BY POLITICS
MY OFFICE RAN AGROUND
IT’S TIME TO GET A COWBOY FIX
GET OUT OF THIS DAMNED TOWN

LEAVE THE RACE TO MY FELLOW RATS
CLEAR MY HEAD AND RECONNECT
THE CHAPARRAL IS CALLING
LEAVING NOW TO GET THERE FAST
TO FIND MYSELF AND REDIRECT
HEAR MY THOUGHTS
AND RESURRECT
I FEEL LIKE I’M FALLING
AS I DRIVE ON AND ON AND ON
WAY OUT THERE
TO THE BACK OF BEYOND

I’LL FIRE UP THE FARMALL
LEAVE ALL MY TROUBLES BEHIND
RIDE OUT INTO PURPLE SAGE
IN AN ARIZONA STATE OF MIND
OVER DIAMONDBACKS
THROUGH COYOTE PACKS
OCOTILLO AND PRICKLY PEAR
SOUNDS LIKE MY OFFICE I SWEAR
THERE I’LL SAVOR STILLNESS
EVERY BRILLIANT SUNRISE
THE COTTONWOODS ARE BEAUTIFUL
TIME TO RESET, REGROUP AND REPRISE

ONLY DIRT ROADS TAKE YOU OUT THERE
BRING YOUR SIDEARM AND SOME GUTS
GO LEFT ON DOUBLE BUZZARD
TAKE HIGH LONESOME IF YOU MUST
A THOUSAND MILES LATER WHERE
YOU’RE FAR FROM ALL THE CHAOS
YOUR FIRST BREATHS OF RARE FRESH AIR
TELL ‘EM ANYTHING YOU WANT TO
TELL ‘EM I ABSCONDED
TO THE WIDE OPEN COUNTRY
TELL ‘EM I DROVE ON AND ON AND ON
TO THE PLACES FAR BEYOND IT

I’LL FIRE UP THE FARMALL
LEAVE MY TROUBLES BEHIND
RIDE OUT INTO PURPLE SAGE
IN AN ARIZONA STATE OF MIND
OVER DIAMONDBACKS
THROUGH COYOTE PACKS
OCOTILLO AND PRICKLY PEAR
I’LL SAVOR STILLNESS AND BRILLIANT SUNRISE
WHERE THE COTTONWOODS ARE BEAUTIFUL
I’M NEVER LEAVING THERE I SWEAR

APACHE VOICES AND NATIVE SPIRITS
TEMPERED BY THE YEARS
IN THE STILLNESS STILL I FEEL THEM
AND HEAR THEM LOUD AND CLEAR
THEIR BRAVE STRUGGLE AND THEIR FEAR
I’VE HUNGERED FOR THEIR FREEDOM
KNOWN A SOUL’S GREAT WILD THIRST
FOR THESE GREAT WIDE OPEN SPACES
WHERE LIFE’S TRIALS ARE REVERSED

I CAN’T SEE IT FROM THE CITY
BUT I KNOW IT’S WAY OUT THERE
I CAN’T SMELL IT’S WILD FRAGRANCE
IN THIS CITY’S ACRID AIR
THOSE DAYS I SPEND OUT THERE
ARE REALLY NO LONGER DREAMS
THEY ARE MY SANITY THESE DAYS IT SEEMS
THE BALANCE MY LIFE NEEDS

AS I STARE OUT MY OFFICE WINDOW NOW
DREAMING OF THOSE DAYS
I LOOK FOR IT ON THE HORIZON
AND LONG FOR WESTERN WAYS
MY HEART’S OUT IN THE SAGE GRASS
AND IN THE WILD PLACES
THIS HELPS ME CARRY ON AND ON
HELPS ME CARRY ON
ALWAYS TAKES ME BACK THERE
TO THE BACK OF BEYOND

I’LL FIRE UP THE FARMALL
LEAVE MY TROUBLES BEHIND
RIDE OUT INTO PURPLE SAGE
IN AN ARIZONA STATE OF MIND
IN SPITE OF DIAMONDBACKS
COYOTE PACKS
OCOTILLO PRICKLY PEAR
I SAVORED STILLNESS AND BRILLIANT SUNRISE
COTTONWOODS SO BEAUTIFUL
MY HEART’S NEVER LEAVING THERE I SWEAR

© BROOKS BRADBURY | INNSPIRED HOSPITALITY

BrooksLooks @ Chiricahua Cowgirl

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CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL
Brooks Bradbury

UNDER POWDER BLUE SKIES
A YOUNG ARIZONA GIRL RIDES
ON HER PRIDE AND JOY PONY
THEIR RARE LOVE ABIDES

HER MOTHER’S FINAL DYING HOPE
A GIFT TO HER A LARIAT ROPE
AND A LEOPARD APPALOOSA COLT
HER DAUGHTER NAMED HIM LIGHTENING BOLT

SHE FIGHTS THE PAIN EVERY NOW AND THEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
TO RECONNECT WITH EARLY DAYS
AND HER MOTHER’S LOVE AND SIMPLE WAYS
IN APACHE LAND OF CHOKONEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
GET UP, GET ON YOUR HORSE AND TELL ME WHEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN

THEY ROAMED THE DESERT RANGE FOREVER
TWO YOUNG HEARTS TOGETHER,
SMELLS OF PIÑON PINE AND LEATHER
DAYS GO BY AND THEY WOULD KNOW
LIFE’S SUPRISING SUDDEN BLOWS
SHATTERED BONES AND BROKEN HEARTS
PAINFUL FALLS AND LOVER’S WOES

SHE FIGHTS THE PAIN EVERY NOW AND THEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
TO RECONNECT WITH EARLIER DAYS
AND HER MOTHER’S LOVE AND SIMPLE WAYS
IN APACHE LAND OF CHOKONEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
GET UP, GET ON YOUR HORSE TELL ME WHEN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN

A HANDSOME COWBOY RAW AND TALL
BROUGHT HER FLOWERS, CHANGED IT ALL
HER LOVE GREW STRONGER
THEN ALL FELL THROUGH
ENDING SOME MONTHS LATER
BECAUSE HE WAS UNTRUE

THE WILD WEST BECAME WILD THEN
UNBRIDLED ANGER AND WILD EYES,
SHE SET OFF TO OUTRUN HIS LIES
NOTHING COULD CONTAIN HER RAGE
SHE TRIED HARD TO TURN THE PAGE
RODE HER HORSE LIKE A LION FROM A CAGE

THE RIDE WAS FAST AND FAR AND HIGH,
TEARS FROM LOSS AND CRIES OF WHY
BEYOND THE LIMITS OF HORSE AND GIRL
A WILD CRAZY DERVISH WHIRL

A SCORPION SURPRISED THEM
HER HORSE REARED UP, SHE FELL DOWN
ONLY HOURS LATER CAME AROUND
HER HORSE STAYED BY HER
THEY STOOD THEIR GROUND

SHE DRAGGED HERSELF UP
FROM THE GROUND TO HER STIRRUPS
BROKEN BONES AND AN UNYIELDING SPIRIT
HER LAST RIDE? SHE’LL NEVER HEAR IT

CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
GET UP, GET ON YOUR HORSE
AND TELL ME WHEN
THE CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN
CHIRICAHUA COWGIRL RIDES AGAIN

BrooksLooks@ Chiricahua Cowgirl

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Chiricahua Cowgirl
under powder blue skies a brave Arizona girl rides
on her pride and joy pony the last gift from her mother
upon her death they were left almost nearly alone
her mom’s final hope that they rescue each other
the girl and her pony took their hard lives in stride

from childhood and older they roamed Chiricahua forever
diamondbacks and prickly pear, piñon pine and leather
years went by and they would know troubles life sometimes throws
loss and sadness, all of life’s madness and the pain of poverty’s woes

they shared joys and heartaches, and struggled on these two
the girl and her lineback Dun lived and breathed and grew
good people watched over them, like occasional angels above
giving food and shelter and safety in lieu of a mother’s love

then one day it happened, a new love came to call
the cowgirl fell in love with love him, cowboy warts and all
it ended some months later when she found he was untrue
Chiricahua then erupted her true love was misconstrued

angry skies and wild eyes, nothing contained her rage
the Wild West became wilder then, and a cowgirl came of age
they lit out for Dos Cabezas, on beyond Apache Pass
beyond the limits of girl and horse, flat out on the open range

the ride near over, exhausted, she had cried her final tear
a scorpion spooked her lineback dun, it reacted out of fear
the cowgirl was thrown hard down on unyielding ground
she was left there forever to die, her body remains unfound

get up, get on your horse, come tell me when
the Chiricahua Cowgirl rides again
she drags herself from the ground to her stirrups
with broken bones and an unbent spirit
her last ride, she’ll never hear it

Chiricahua Cowgirl rides again
to reconnect with better days
of endless joys and simple ways
over Apache land of Chokonen
Chiricahua Cowgirl rides again

© Copyright 2013 Brooks Bradbury / BrooksLooks