Waltz Across Texas
In my early years, I spend a lot of time waltzing across the state,
That is, Texas, The Lone Star State, that was always so great.
The Poem follows that waltz for the early years which were fine,
And touches on our Oklahoma Swing years on down the line.
.
.
.
Waltz Across Texas
I was born in the town of Phillips, Texas, in the year of 1943,
To begin my Waltz Across Texas before my Dad joined the Navy.
It was a time of war that first interrupted my dance as a baby,
Following Dad with Mom and sister JerrylDine while in the Navy.
.
.
.
.
..
When Dad was discharged, I started my dance in Borger town,
Back dancing on that huge Texas hardwood floor getting down.
For three short years we waltzed along at that special location.
Then moved back to my birthplace because of my Dad’s vocation.
.
.
.
.
..
At Phillips once more, my dance became a very long one so fun,
I perfected my steps as I floated along there often on the run,
Learning and growing from a small boy into a grown man so fair,
Just dancing through life’s ups and downs as I lived right there.
.
.
.
.
..
After graduating high school and Junior College there at home,
I waltzed off to Lubbock to attend college stumbling as I roamed.
But I got back on step as I learned how my studying to enhance,
And my waltz got so smooth that I couldn’t believe it as I did dance.
.
.
.
.
..
With degree in hand, I got a job in Borger, still a Texas man.
Working and dancing hard as I waltzed across that new land.
After 4 years, Uncle Sam drafted me into the Army of the USA.
I headed to ElPaso, Texas, for a Basic Training dance, hooray!
.
.
..
I waltzed around with one hundred men as they trained us hard,
Making soldiers out of us forcing dances that our bodies jarred.
They shaped us up and got us ready, then shipped me overseas,
To a war zone in Vietnam, as to serve our country, we were pleased.
.
.
.
.
..
Surviving the war, I headed back my job in Borger, Texas again,
To waltz once more as an engineer still just a little bit green.
I danced single a while, then moved to, Fritch, a town nearby,
Looking for a real waltzing partner to begin our family and fly.
.
.
.
.
..
I married Pam and the good life began, waltzing life with our girls,
Working hard, playing hard, and giving our family life a whirl.
We two stepped a little as we waltzed along loving our lives so,
Having so much fun with our two lovely girls constantly on the go.
.
.
.
.
..
They offered me a promotion, but I had to leave Texas a while,
We headed to Oklahoma City and worked hard there in style,
And I was offered a job deep in the heart of Texas in Houston,
We waltzed on back to Texas feeling like we had a real solution.
.
.
.
.
..
All the way back on tape we played “Waltz Across Texas” again.
Feeling like we were back in the saddle, let our new ride begin.
The traffic was hard to take down there in Houston so large,
But, soon I was promoted and headed for Odessa on a charge.
.
.
.
.
..
The job in Odessa ended our long waltz in the Lone Star State,
As I was stressed and requested a transfer that job to abate
But we started a new dance in Oklahoma we call the Swing,
Dances the Mickey Mousers, the Aces, and the Misques did bring.
.
.
.
.
..
We’ve been doing that Oklahoma Swing for 33 long years now,
By now our Swing has almost Swung but we still know how.
We still waltz on down Texas way to visit some when we can,
But the easy slow waltz is now about all we can really stand.
.
.
.
.
..
By Bill
.
.
.
Thanks for reading Waltz Across Texas,
Bill