After he...

..was a Rough Rider, Theodore Roosevelt had a ranch,
out in North Dakota, it's still here, and not by chance.
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park, it's named;
and that is not by chance.  He founded the system, for him it's framed.

These are the cattle, raised on his ranch,
the Dakota Territory was alive, on the Little Missouri branch;
out here in the Badlands, western part of the state,
the lands are still bad, but the scenery's great.

This is an overlook, you can see what the lands about,
cowboys and cattle, could get in and out,
it's hot in the summer, and there ain't much shade,
and real cold in the winter, one never 'has it made'.

You might find a nest of Eagles, high up on the cliff, lucky you!
On the banks of the Little Missouri River, as it winds through;
the river provides the water, an element needed first,
for the wildlife and the cattle to quench their thirst.

There's the river winding, you know it's headed south,
eventually it'll end up, in the Mississippi Deltas' mouth;
it's a long, eventful ride if we were to go that far,
might be a good idea, now that "rivers" are made for a car.

So, while we ponder that, as the sun sets in the west,
maybe we should have been cowboys, as the life we loved the best.
We could ride the range with horses, lasso a cow or two,
or, we could be, here and now...just like me and you.

Enjoy!