FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

111

Unknown

Grandma

A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own, so she likes other people's little girls. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with boys and they talk about fishing and tractors and things like that.

grandmother, attitude, kindness

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

112

Frank Carleton Nelson

To Dad

Never had much style about him, never cared for dress; Sort o' spent his life a sowin' seeds of happiness; Doin' little things for others, helpin' where he could; Never makin' much pretension, always doin' good.

father, care, love

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

113

Anonymous

Before It Is Too Late

If you have a gray-haired mother in the old home far away, sit down and write the letter you put off day by day.

time, mother, death

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

114

Anonymous

Limit! One to a Customer

You can have dozens of cousins-in-laws by the gross, And uncles and aunts three or four.

size, family, mother

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

115

Edgar A. Guest

An Aunt

I hold no quarrel with the world o'er which our lives are spanned; The more I see its way unfurled I find things wisely planned.

family, aunt, help

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

116

Anonymous

That Old School Girl O' Mine

I've been looking through some letters tied with ribbon years ago, Written by a school girl sweetheart to an awkward, bashful beau.

sweetheart, wife, girlfriend

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

118

Anonymous

This Is A Family

A place of warmth when the world is cold... a place of safety when the world is hostile... a place of light when the world is dark. THIS IS A FAMILY.

family, description, togetherness

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

120

Anonymous

Flour Sack Underwear

When I was a maiden fair Mama made our underwear. With several tots and Pa's poor pay, How could she buy us lingerie?

underwear, poverty, sack, creativity

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

122

Anonymous

I Have a Boy

I've a wonderful boy, and I say to him "Son" Be fair and be square in the race you must run.

son, boy, child

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

123

Dr. Frank Crane

Dear Dad

Dear Dad, I am writing this to you, though you have been dead 30 years.

father, death, letter

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

124

Laurie E. Dawson

This is Your Day

You're an everyday mother Full of surprises Who always stays calm whatever arises

mother, rest, gratitude

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

125

Anonymous

What is a Mother?

A mother is a wonderful creature constructed almost entirely of love and this she an express in a million ways from hugs and kisses and good cooking and patient listening, to stern lectures and strict rules and the repeated use of the word "no".

mother, love, kindness

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

126

Edgar A. Guest

Sleeping Child

I like to tiptoe round her wen she's lying fast asleep And straighten out the covers where she's kicked them in a heap,

sleep, child, father

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

128

Edgar A. Guest

Home

It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home, A heap o' sun an' shadder, an' ye sometimes have t' roam Afore ye really 'preciate the things ye lef' behind, An' hunger fer 'em somehow, with 'em allus on yer mind.

home, family, memory

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

130

Senator George Graham Vest

A Tribute to the Dog

The best human friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful.

loyalty, dog, friend

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

131

Anonymous

Little Lost Pup

He was lost! -not a shade of a doubt of that; For he never barked at a slinking car, But stood in the square where the wind blew raw

puppy, lost, cute

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

132

Anonymous

For A Little Brown Dog

For a little brown dog, who "sees" me down The hill to the car when I go to town, And carries my bag with an air of pride

friend, dog, gratitude

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

134

A. K. (Rosey) Rowswell

Teddy

You'll forgive a bit of frankness I hope, especially since I was one of those "hard-boiled" individuals who had always been unable to understand just how people could become so attached to a dog as to become mournful at s

memory, dog, funeral, heaven

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

138

George Barnes

The Hobo Santa Claus

It was a cold December evening and the Lord didn't mean no harm But he sent a howling blizzard that almost covered up the farm And it hit the children hardest the little ones you see Tomorrow they'd wake up Christmas and there was nothing beneath the tree

hobo, sacrifice, christmas

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

141

Jeff Foxworthy

A Gift

A man named Paul received a new automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.

gift, brother, car ride, selflessness

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

142

William J. Barker

Santa Claus Goes West

'Twas the night before Christmas, when clean 'crost the spread, not a critter was stirrin'; they slept like the dead; The socks was all hanged in the bunkhouse real neat, In the hopes they'd git filled with somethin' 'sides feet;

humor, parody, santa, stagecoach

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

145

S. Omar Barker

Cowboy's Christmas Prayer

I ain't much good at prayin', and You may not know me, Lord - I ain't much seen in churches where they preach Thy holy word, But You may have observed me out here on the lonely plains, A-lookin' after cattle, feelin' thankful when it rains,

prayer, christmas, grace

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

148

Anonymous

The Woman in the Harbor

There's a woman in the harbor whose arm is stretched to god; She stands and guards the precious miles of earth my feet have trod.

woman, harbor, protection

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

149

Veda Ponikvar

Saints and Sinners

When some fellow yields to temptation and breaks a conventional law, We look for no good in his makeup but, Lord, how we look for the flaw.

sin, saint, mercy, judgement

Ol' Mike's Philosophy and Foolishness

Mike Oatman

FOLK COLL 11 O-14

150

Anonymous

It Shows In Your Face

You don't have to tell how you've lived each day, You don't have to say if you work or you play For a wonderous barometer serves in its place - However you live, it will show in your face.

face, life, struggle, experience