FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

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Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunalp

The Perfect Bull

I figure one of these days if I'm lucky, I just might own the perfect bull. A creature of the most impeccable qualities, Which I'll attempt to describe in full.

bull, perfection, specimen

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Go Easy On Me

I was helping a neighbor at his branding, One hot and muggy summer day. The vet was preg-checking his heifers, To see if, indeed, they were in the family way.

chute, branding, vet

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Rancher's Call

I know that there's some buckeroo types, Who absolutely disdain any type of work; That isn't done from the back of a horse That's done with the hands, afoot.

rancher, work, fences

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Good Neighbors

A good neighbor's something special, That you just can't quite define. With often angelic qualities, That border on sublime.

neighbor, help, trust

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

I See

I see Spring in brand new calves, running, frolicking in the grass. I see nurturing in the purring mama cat, as she nurses her swarming, writhing mass. I see art in the salt block sculptures, carved by bovine tongues. I see contentment in the lizard, stretched out, basking in the sun.

sight, life, spring, creation

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Christmas Calf

I remember vividly, the Christmas of '83; The land was covered with ice and snow. My then bride-to-be, had gone with me to feed. The thermometer said 10 below.

christmas, calf, birth, cold

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Felt versus Straw

Now my brother-in-law is a true buckeroo, He's worked for some pretty big spreads. And fact is you'd just never see him, Without a Stetson of felt on his head.

hat, heat, humidity, straw, felt

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

My Hired Hand

I'd like to tell you about my hired hand, Who's been with me for some time now. He's not afraid of a hard day's work. He knows which end's up on a cow.

help, hire, partner, wife

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Giving Thanks

I was hauling hay, one hot, July day, And as I dropped the last bale into place. I paused for just a moment, To say a little prayer of thanks.

gratitude, blessings, prayer

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Airborne Equestrian Events

Now I ain't no rodeo cowboy, That happens to be a fact. To those who make their living with the rough stock, I'll gladly tip my hat.

startle, buck, mare, surprise

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

Steward of the Land

He doesn't plant from fencerow to fencerow, Like some of his neighbors do. He leaves a little cover there, For the quail and the rabbits too.

nature, manual, old-fashioned

Waiting for the Pear to Fall

FOLK COLL 11 D-29

Richard M Dunlap

The Land

I've heard the coyotes' symphony, On a cold and lonely night. As I huddled 'neath my blankets, From the chill but not from fright. And as I listened to their wailing, Their sad and mournful song. The night hours just seemed to slip away, As the darkness crept into dawn, Over the land.

land, respect, care, nature

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Cowman's Wife

I came out west in '82, I'd just become Jim's wife; we were young and sorta foolish, hut we were full of love and life.

wife, widow, cowman

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

The "Borried" Fiddle

We all went down to Pueblo Park to hear Don Johnson play; He's durn sure the finest fiddler that has wandered out this way!

fiddle, heart, professional

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Tio Pepe

There's two thing I hate, and I reckon its fate That I've fought with 'em both over land. One of 'em's sheep (there the conflict runs deep), And the other's that damn Hash Knife brand.

sheep, cattle, conflict, land grant

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

My Blue-Eyed Anna Beth

It was many and many a year ago In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived, whom you may know, By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

poe, poem, love, fireside

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Arizona

Oh, beloved Arizona, when God finished making you, When He'd made your wondrous canyons and the sky's deep azure blue;

arizona, god, nature

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Shadows

It's a pretty hopeless feelin' when your side has lost the war, And your home is gone, and no one's needin' rebel soldiers anymore. I come out West. It wasn't any longin' to be free or chasin' idle rainbows - it was pure necessity.

veteran, civil war, confederate, cowboy

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

The Way That Cowboys Sang!

There's many a cowboy story Come a travelin' on a tune, And many was invented By the light of a cold white moon. They say it calmed the cattle down; In truth, it was the need To cover up the night sounds that could spook that skittish breed.

song, style, trail story

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Maverick Love Affair

That dang little maverick had strayed again, and the boss sez to me, "Curly Black, Put that calf with the herd before sundown; it's your job to bring her back!"

love, courting, date, flowers

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

The Roan and The Pontiac

I met Miss Betsy at a dance; her eyes were big and blue, I swung her every chance I got- but the drummer swung her too. He said, "I'll Miss Betsy home. It's rainin', so of course, I'll take her in my Pontiac; you've only got a horse."

city, country, wedding, flat

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Tomboy

I was raised with seven brothers near a place called Concho Lake. There was Jamie, Jeff, and Joseph, Sam, and Seth, and Sid, and Jake. So I grew up rough and tumble, and I made my share of noise, Romped the dogs and roped the horses. I was rowdy as the boys!

girl, tomboy, marriage

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

Just Bill

I used to sing, on summer evenings, at a classy hotel bar On the rim of the Grand Canyon; you could watch the evening stars Burst from gold and purple splendor high above that gorgeous gorge, sparks of light across the night from some celestial forge.

songs, guitar, friendly

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

That Gnarley Old Cowhand I Married

There's a little round ring from a Bull Durham string hanging out on his blue denim shirt. And he doesn't take pains to remove the brown stains, so his fingers seem dyed with red dirt;

rodeo, love, marriage, clown

Cowman's Wife

FOLK COLL 11 J-24

Dee Strickland Johnson

A Letter From Home

Dear Joe, I got your letter with the poems sent along, I think the one called Nellie Dear would make a pretty song. This Ain't No Bull is funny -- how you chased that moss back steer, And High Lonesome made me wonder if you're missing things back here.

letter, poem, proposal