FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

173

Jo Casteel

The Silence

I stopped atop a hill Just for a moment, Pake and me, And heard the muted silence Of the land that sets me free.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

174

Audrey Hankins

Wrong Road

Fed up with owners Wearing out a dream In the short span Of four or five years

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

176

Sharlot Hall

Man-Sized Job

"Wimmin's bizness, it's to cook, Keep th' house a-goin', See th' pigs an' chickens fed, Do a little hoein'

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

177

Deb Carpenter

Two Dogs

A pot of coffee sat between them at The Cuny Table Cafe. 'Tween bites of blueberry pie, they talked of the sun and the rain.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

178

Charlotte Thompson

Hats Off

You know I've been around awhile, you might say I've paid my dues. I've known cowboys and punchers, waddies and twisters, and quite a few good buckaroos.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

179

Yvonne Hollenbeck

Mortgage One Good Wife

When the banker pays a visit to check your inventory, the way he values assets, folks, is quite a different story

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

182

Carmel Randle

Vera

In a lonely outback homestead Quite remote from city life Lay the station-owner dying-- By his side, his loving wife.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

184

Kit McLean

A Blinding Hell Of Driving Snow

A blinding hell of driving snow The pitch of a hill too steep Down the ledges of rocks and ice The coulee's drifted deep

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

185

June Brander Gilman

July Thunderstorms

The distant hills were under a shroud, A blackened haze from a thundercloud Released a torrent of silver drops That peppered the earth like fired buckshot.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

187

Gwen Petersen

Geezers And Crones

Two old cowpokes, Jake and Jerome, Hung up their saddles and went to the Home, For Old Man Time has burned his brand On these elderly cowboys once so grand.

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

189

Linda M. Hasselstrom

Keeping An Eye Out

The was we use ta break HAWK! ropin' horses was PATOOEY! if you wasn't too choosy about the horse, HAWK!

Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin' and Rhymin'

Virginia Bennett

FC 11 B-69

191

Doris Daley

Bones

Three cowboys sit on a split rail fence, Long on bruises, short on sense. Put 'em together and what do you get? (Besides three pair of jeans and a pile of debt.)

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

1

Jim Ross

Saddle Up An R-i-i-i-d-e

When you wake up in the morning And the birds are all a-twitter, When the sun is just arising With the mountain peaks a-glitter

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

2

Jim Ross

Picky, Picky, Picky

A strange rider stopped at mealtime To pass the time of day; He was invited in to luncheon, His horse got oats and hay.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

3

Jim Ross

Me And My Pony

Just a ridin', ridin', ridin', across the western plains, My spurs are markin' music, it's circulatin' through my veins; The meadowlarks are singin', the coyote had his say

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

6

Jim Ross

A Star Is Born or From Slew Water To Bourbon

He was just a drifter passin' through, I found him all tattered and torn; I took Sam in and vowed to see If a cowpoke couldn't be born.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

8

Jim Ross

Even A Cowboy Can Cry

If you don't think a cowboy cries Just watch the dew form in his eyes When an old friend gets sick and dies And he must say his last goodbyes.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

10

Jim Ross

Too Good To Sell

Somewhere out there on the prairie Is a pony I used to know, Though he wears my J Cross iron He's as free as the drifting snow.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

12

Jim Ross

The Extremes

You have heard the old saying about feast or famine; And the fisherman says, "It is sucker or salmon."

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

13

Jim Ross

Lil And The Red Dawg Saloon

Howlers were in tune at the Red Dawg Saloon On the banks of the Bitterroot, The boardwalk outside was alive and astride With many a high heeled boot.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

18

Jim Ross

Dear Lord

I'd be glad to 'cash in' in my wagon, 'Tween the soogans snug in my bed, Using my slicker for pillow, With my bed tarp pulled near my head.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

17

Jim Ross

Aim To Please

When your reputation's questioned And you must defend the same, Always shoot 'em in the right eye, That will sure disturb their ain.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

17

Jim Ross

Keep The Faith

Though it be cloudy out today, The sun is shining anyway; It may be hidden from your view But still it's shining just like new.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

18

Jim Ross

A Relic Of The Past

Behind the corral in sort of a heap Is a home like I used when I once herded sheep; The roof is all gone, the sides in decay, The floor and the wheels are just rotting away.

Saddle Up And R-i-i-i-d-e More Cowboy Poetry

FC 11 R-40

20

Jim Ross

Dear Doctor

I sure hate bothering a man like you, But this cowboy is in an awful stew; I've not penned a note since my daddy died, Still my feelings are such that I can't hide.