Larry Maurice
Larry Maurice has
spent the last twenty years as a cowboy, horse wrangler and packer in
the Eastern Sierra and the high deserts of Nevada. A cowboy poet, Larry
spends a great deal of time in schools around the country talking to
children about the role the Cowboy has played and continues to play in
the development of the west. He continues to travel the country,
performing his one man show COWBOY, THE SPIRIT, THE LORE, THE LEGACY.
Through poetry, song and stories, Larry is able to transport his
audiences back in time, allowing them to experience the cattle drives,
characters and critters of the old west
I Wish I Could Have Seen It
I wish I could have
seen it.
From the deck of the
San Carlos in that time so
long ago
This land they called California
Land of the hidalgos
Through the eyes of Father Serra
Riding on the El Camino Real
The tule fog of the San Joaquin
The mission at San Rafael
The mustard fields of
the Presidio
The pounding surf at Refugio Bay
The snow capped Sierra Nevada
The sunken gardens of San Luis Rey
This land they called
del oro
Made grand by the chaff of the court of Spain
Where the seeds of Western freedom were
casually strewn upon a willing plain
I wish I could have
seen it.
The bells of San Diego
de Alcalda
The cattle on a 1000 Hills
The mighty Sacramento flowing to where its delta water spills
The coastal range of pines and promise
The Barrancaac where the Black Panther calls
The wild bougainvillea
Climbing sun baked adobe walls
I wish I could have
seen it.
Big Sur in all its
glory
The twisted pines of Monterey
The wailing hordes of sea lions on the rocks of Moro Bay
The caballos del sueño
The silver flash of the proud Vaquero
Senoritas of the manila and comb
Quiet nights and guitars on the patio
I wish I could have
seen it.
But perhaps it isn't
gone
I know these things
because I have been there
and they live in my heart today
In daydreams and memories they will never fade away
On a moon lit night…
If you close your eyes (just a little bit)
and gaze seaward from a rugged San Pedro Hill
You just might see Spanish galleons ghostly sails
Fluttering their still
You can still ride…
From Baja to Alta
California
From Rancho to Pueblo and feel the history at your feet
You can still hear the old songs of the people and the promise, on
Olvera Street
The swallows still
welcome the faithful back to worship
at Mission San Juan Capistrano
and the Tejon brand still marks the cattle
As it did so long ago
It is here in the
fiestas and sunsets on the beach
It’s here in thoughts of, “Gold in them thar Hills”
It is here today, not beyond your reach
It’s called,
California
It was and is…
A challenge and a promise
For those who have the will to make a brand-new start
California!
It’s what dreams are
made of
History myth and heart
I see it now and in
that time
El gusto es mio, me amigo
The pleasure is all mine
Truckee, CA, July 2002.
Commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts for the City of
Santa Clarita’s Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival.
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