The stranger rode up
as we sat round the fire
it was burning down low
and we were beginning to tire

He tied off his ride
By some brush by a boulder
He was just a young lad
Though in the dark he looked older

We offered him coffee
said sit down, have a cup
We said if you're hungry
There's still food to sup

He accepted and thanked us
Said he'd got lost on the trail
With the north winter winds
Bringing on early hail

He pulled up a stump
I saw a slight flash of tin
I said "you're a lawman"
he just gave a grin

I'm from up in Kansas
was back to my home
Had to visit my mama
she's all on her own

I poured him a coffee
And I told him what's what
I said it isn't the best
But, it's sure as heck hot

I smiled at his lie
And I stoked at the fire
I thought to myself
This man's a liar

I said "in this here circle"
"we may not all be friends"
"so, toss a log on this fire"
"and we'll hear how this ends"

He reached for a log
placed it in, didn't throw
didn't reach for the poker
moved it round with his toe

"The rules of the fire"
"Is that the tender regales"
"The rest of the members"
"with a song or some tales'

"since you just got here"
"and the fire is hot"
"tell us a story"
"give the best that you've got"

He shuffled a little
Took a sip, and began
And it just took a minute
To hook us all, every man

He talked of the rustlers
He'd been chasing around
How they got in a shoot out
How, they'd all gone to ground

He lived life a plenty
For a man of his age
He was just twenty three
But, he spoke out like a sage

He'd regaled us with stories
As the fire burned low
We were all getting tired
But, we did not want to go

He pushed at the embers
Again with his boot
He finished his coffee
And he lit a cheroot

For two hours he talked
Since the fire rules said
that the fire was his
Till we chose to all bed

When we woke in the morning
We found he took flight
He left our small fire
In the dead of the night

The fire was burning
And there was a fresh *** of brew
But the stranger was missing
And our saddle bags too

I was right when I reckoned
That he was telling us lies
I could tell from the way
He didn't look in our eyes

The boots didn't fit
He was just stretching them out
By heating them up in the fire
and moving about

He sure was no lawman
He was a teller of tales
Truths , half truths and lies
He had them by the pail

We packed up our camp
Tried to pick up the trail
Of this campfire thief
With the devilish tail

We knew we'd find him
For liars repeat
He'd come back to our fire
And we'd give him a seat....

The Old Man sat out front and watched
As the sky started to change
The clouds were forming quickly
They were looking rather strange

He said "It's time to round  'em up"
"Get ready for a ride"
"We've got to get the horses"
"And get them all inside"

"A day, maybe two at most"
"We'd best get set to hunker down"
"It won't be long before"
"We see more white than brown"

"Those clouds on the horizon"
"The way they dip and make that hole"
"That's the Window Into Winter"
"On that, I'd bet my soul"

He walked into the bunkhouse
Grabbed his gear, and looked around
He yelled, "That's The Window Into Winter"
"Snow, will soon be on the ground"

Now, normally, the clouds roll in
There's a storm and then the snow
With The Window Into Winter
It gives us time, it lets us know

"Someone get a list made"
"We need supplies, and need them fast"
"That Window won't stay open"
"It's gonna close, it will not last"

"Heed the Window into Winter"
"It gives us one more chance before"
"Jack Frost and all his helpers"
"Come knocking at our door"

Now, remember when you see it
Between the clouds up in the sky
There's a hole between the mountains
And that says, that Winter's nigh

It's The Window Into Winter
Now get along and get to work
Bring the horses in and hurry
There's things to do, so do not shirk

Once the hole has closed up tightly
And the clouds are all but one
Then The Window Into Winter
Will be no more, the fall is done.

There's woods outside of town aways
that I will not go near
There's tales of ghosts and monsters
And I don't like the things I hear

There's screeching noises unlike those
Any animal can make
Even in the daylight
Those woods just make me shake

I've heard tales of people who
Let their dogs out after dark
They come back, all scared and skittered
And they never ever bark

There's something in those woods I say
Strong magic is around
There's tales of children disappearing
Never to be found

Three years ago I walked on past
And I heard a noise....real close
I swore something was watching me
It may have been a ghost

On Halloween, the woods light up
With magic from within
No one dares to venture there
They'll not be seen again

Some nights when the moon is full
The noises fill the air
Of screeching, howling wild beasts
Of things covered in hair

I've only seen one bird around
The entrance to the wood
It's a single, lonely raven
And to me that isn't good

Raccoons, and skunks and squirrels
I never see them near this place
It's inhabited by demons
It's never known god's grace

The stories aren't the sort that
Make you want to see
What is in the woods that howls
I won't go in ...not me

The woods have always been there
And the stories have been too
I know the sounds scare me to death
And I'm sure, they'd scare you too

Don't venture near the woods at night
Don't go there in the day
Just leave them to their darkness
It's just best to stay away

Please give this a look
And maybe buy my book
Thank you in advance
Take a look, and take a chance

http://www.amazon.com/Roger-Turner/e/B0167G3868/ref=nttdpepwbk_0

I dreamed about the future
and you know it wasn't great
Unless, I may have missed it
And I kind of showed up late

Time controls the future
turns tomorrow to today
just when you think you've made it
the future's yesterday

You can have a bucket full of wishes
You can have a bucket full of dreams
But, don't wait until the future
For it's not quite what it seems

Other peoples futures
Overlap with what you do
Everything keeps changing
So the future is not new

What goes around will come again
At least that's what they say
So if you want to have a future
Why not start out with today?

Tomorrow is a zephyr
It moves fast and it's gone
For the future is the present
by the time you count to one

So, take your bucket full of wishes
And your bucket full of dreams
Don't wait until the future
It isn't what it seems

My future's now my present
And my present will soon go
I don't dream about the future
When I get there...I won't know

Out in the back forty
There's a tree and underneath
Is a lonely wooden marker
All it says is "Heath"

Not many really knew him
He just hung around the ranch
I remember when I found him
Hanging from that branch

He never really said much
Kept quiet most the time
Always had a smile
And he had his lucky dime

Heath was slightly slower
Not in step, but in his brain
But, that didn't really matter
For folks loved him all the same

I remember back in school
When Heath was getting teased
The only one defended him
was me...and Heath was pleased

We were bonded from that moment
We were brothers you might say
Where I was, you would find him
Until that fateful day

Folks say that the Johnson boys
Caught him down by Crindle creek
They girls were down there swimming
And they'd gone to have a peek

Heath was down there fishing
Saw the boys and gave a shout
The girls went off a runnin'
And then Heath was set about

The story gets all muddled
Since no one was around
There were six conflicting stories
On how he got hung up off the ground

The truth will be deep buried
Since only four folks know for sure
And three of them aren't telling
And Heath was number four

I rode out after supper
No one knew where Heath was at
I took out for the creek bed
And there I found his hat

From there I took off westward
Toward the tree, to spend the night
I'd head home in the morning
I'd leave at the first light

But, there was where I found him
Hanging, dead from that old tree
From what ever demons ailed him
Heath had been set free

His folks has left for Tulsa
Leaving him back at our ranch
That's where he will stay now
In the ground beneath that branch

I made a simple marker
Painted white with just his name
And even though nobody goes there
I had to let folks know he came

So out on the back forty
By the tree, yep..underneath
Sits a little, simple marker
painted white,....it just says Heath.

Today I sit and ponder
Of all that is my life
Of work and friends and family
Of my dear and loving wife

I ponder of my future
I don't worry of the past
That's all done and dusted
And it all went by so fast

I used to have a vision
But, that has long since died
I came close to achieving
And god, you know I tried

I ponder where I'd be right now
If just one thing had changed
How would my life be different?
If my life was rearranged

I ponder, but it's useless
My life is great as is
I cannot do much better
I'm happy with all this

I've got all that I can wish for
And I wouldn't change a bit
For now, my life is perfect
So, I ponder ....while I sit