John Wayne, public domain photo
Copyright (c) 2025
By G.C. Stevens
Memories of The Tall Man
You rode in on the stagecoach against a dusty brown sky.
Your presence, tall, lean, with clear intent
A Kentuckian born in Iowa, clad in buckskin, a cowboy through and through
The dark sands of a hostile Island, told us the story, one of many we knew
Flying Leathernecks and Flying Tigers, lit up your sky
Another gunfight to settle, another trail to ride
You stood in the doorway, the light of honor surrounded your frame
Well mounted splashing across the Rio Grande, you came
Apache's on the bluff, miles of desert and monument valley below.
With True Grit in your heart, that only an American would know.
