Gerry Sowers is a cowboy poet who hails from North Carolina. His love for the Lord has him ministering to retirement homes in Lander, and witnessing Christ in his daily life. He moved his family to Lander about 10 years ago from North Carolina when he was medically retired from practicing Law. As a lawyer, Gerry was once ordered to practice law on horseback by a judge. He rode into work on horseback daily to do so. He raised and rode horses for many years until he was physically unable. He frequently participated in civil war re-enactments such as Gettysburg and others. As a re-enactor, he helped serve the Chaplains in re-enactors for Jesus Christ and was in the epic motion picture Gettysburg. He is also in several Civil War journals and other documentaries on the Civil War. Gerry plays Banjo, sings, writes poetry, and sculpts natural fish scenes. He lives on Lonesome Possum Ranch in Lander, Wyoming.
I rode out of Big Sandy
On my way to South Pass,
And was crossing the Prospects
And the weather, it turned bad fast.
I started cussing my luck
At being caught in these mountains
For getting to South Pass
I had really been counting.
It was Christmas Eve
And I wanted to be
In South Pass City
With friends and family.
The wind was so cold
And the snow was really coming down
And I knew at that moment,
I’d not make it into town.
I reigned in my horse
And pondered what to do.
I looked around and far off to my right
A small grove of quakies came into view.
Again, I cussed my confounded luck.
No one, but me of course,
Would be caught in the snow
And spend Christmas Eve with his horse.
It was dark when I tied my horse to a tree.
My horse, he was skittish,
And it seemed the ground
Was moving all around me.
Then I heard a voice come out of the woods,
And right in front of me a little man stood.
I noticed the ground wasn’t moving around me.
I was in the middle of a big flock of sheep
As far as I could see.
And I could see, on that night, all of God’s mighty Glory.
And I thought no one was more fortunate than me,
To be spending Christmas Eve, with a shepherd, you see.
I learned from him of God’s great love,
How he gave us His Only Son,
And that Jesus died on the cross for us
When His work on Earth was done.
He came to save all sinners
That is how it came to be,
Yes, Jesus saves all sinners
Even old cowboys like me.
R.G. Sowers III
