FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

126

Elizabeth Ebert

Elevators

I harbor a fondness of elevators! And when this body of sixty-odd years Is transported from first floor to seventh Quite effortlessly.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

127

Elizabeth Ebert

Love Story

Her eyes were blue, a deeper blue Than sunswept seas or summer skies. He offered her the small bouquet And told her she had bluebell eyes.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

129

Elizabeth Ebert

A Gourmet's Seasons

The brown earth's peeking through the snow That's melting in the sun's warm rays. I call these early days of spring "Whipped cream on chocolate pudding" days. And then the earth begins to sprout New leaves and grasses everywhere, It's one big salad bowl of greens With sharp wine dressing in the air.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

130

Elizabeth Ebert

The Car

My husband bought a car for me today. A car for me to drive whene'er I choose Without first finding out if someone needs it more. It is not a NEW car.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

131

Elizabeth Ebert

The Story of Cyclone Creek

Cyclone Creek runs into the Grand, And I'll tell you the tale so you'll understand How it got its name in the long ago, Back about nineteen-six or so. It's not on the map for it is just A mile-long slit in the prairie's crust.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

134

Elizabeth Ebert

Baler Twine

Grandma saved string. There was no piece too short To knot together, and add to the ball She misered in the lowest cupboard drawer. It makes me smile a bit as I recall For I save baler twine.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

136

Elizabeth Ebert

Cowboy Vulgarity

We're having problems over words (Folks have complained, you know.) What should we call the stuff that comes From the place where cowtails grow?

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

137

Elizabeth Ebert

Grandpa's Plane

He rode beside his father From the time he was knee high. He loved the land and cattle But he also loved the sky. Loved the creak of saddle leather, Loved the feel of bridle reins, By day he was a ranch kid, But at night he dreamed of planes.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

142

Elizabeth Ebert

Song From The Day The Pump Broke

We fought the water pipes all day Or rather he did, while I held the tools, And cooked him steak for lunch, and hoped My presence at his side would comfort bring. We needed water soon, the stock must drink; But nothing seemed to work.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

143

Elizabeth Ebert

The Saga Of The Rancher's Son

One day the stalward young son of a rancher said: "Dad, Since ranching's in my blood, you know, I think that I'll try rodeo. I'll need to buy a brand new horse, A trailer, and some gear, of course."

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

146

Elizabeth Ebert

A Windy Tale

He said his birthplace was the plains But he never knew his mother, For an old she-wolf had raised him With the wind his only brother.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

148

Elizabeth Ebert

On Staying Married

In these days when a divorce Is a common thing of course, I suggest the best solution to keep those marriage vows Is to buy a chunk of land And, as wife and only hand, Go in debt a whole lot more and buy some cows.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

151

Elizabeth Ebert

Old Jake

Old Jake lived in a little shack Way back behind a hill, And he made bootleg whiskey In a battered copper still. Now Old Jake was a fat man With a belly like a keg, And he used a cane to get around For he had a gimpy leg.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

154

Elizabeth Ebert

The Cemetery

We have a small town cemetery On a little hill out on the prairie And all our folks are buried there. But there's no such thing as perpetual care, And so we go there every spring To mow and rake and do the things That someone always has to do, And all our neighbors work there too.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

156

Elizabeth Ebert

The Hunter

"I'll brush this draw alone," said he. Not his the camaraderie Of hunting friends with jovial talk. He loved a solitary walk. He reveled in the autumn days, The shimmer of a far-off haze.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

159

Elizabeth Ebert

Retirement

The cattle should be brought home soon But though it's now November, We must forget--it's not our place In these days to remember. For we have passed the ranch on down And it is better so, For old folks have to fade and die And young folks have to grow.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

161

Elizabeth Ebert

Veterinarian's Assistant

My husband called to me one day, He said, "Come out here right away. I need some help to calve a heifer." I wish I'd been a little deafer; I wouldn't have heard that siren call; I wouldn't have gone outside at all.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

164

Elizabeth Ebert

Soup's On

The modern waitress of today Wears uniforms decollete. I often wonder: should she stoop, Would she fall out into my soup?

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

165

Elizabeth Ebert

Santa Claus And The Cowboy

A cowboy wrote a letter, Faxed it off to Santa Claus, And the list of things he asked for Made dear old Santa pause.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

168

Elizabeth Ebert

Requiem For An Old Cowboy

He told us that he'd soon be moving on, Up to a range that none of us had seen, Where skies were blue and cloudless, and the grass Was stirrup deep and always lush and green.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

169

Elizabeth Ebert

The Tea Set

She never did quite understand Just how she chanced to meet The darkly handsome stranger Who swept her off her feet. He'd come from somewhere farther west Said he had a ranch out there.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

174

Elizabeth Ebert

And Then Comes Spring

The harvest's done. The stacks are moved in close. The cattle are brought home to winter ground. And soon the snow begins to fall and weave A white cocoon, encircling us around.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

175

Elizabeth Ebert

Cowboy Courtin' Time

When Romeo went courtin' He climbed a balcony, And some men serenade you Upon their bended knee.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

177

Elizabeth Ebert

Real Cowboys Do Brush

Have you wondered how a cowboy Out riding on his hoss, Far from a dentist's office, and root canal and floss.

Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems

FC 11 E-21

178

Elizabeth Ebert

Willows

A west wind sways the willows That lean across the pond Whispering mirthful secrets, And as each lacy frond.