~ Cowboy Poetry ~

[Jeanway 0]

Are you a fan of it or are you a cowboy or a cowboy poet? The cowboy poetry I have heard is usually hysterical. Very base or earthy so I hope no one will get offended by this. Here is a short explaination of it.

 

Cowboy poetry is rhymed, metered verse written by someone who has lived a significant portion of his or her life in Western North American cattle culture. The verse reflects an intimate knowledge of that way of life, and the community from which it maintains itself in tradition. "All cowboy poets live in the rural West. At the center of the tradition are the men who spend the majority of their time horseback, keeping track of grazing cattle and moving them to market. Many of today's poets are ranch housewives, ranch owners, auctioneers, rodeo cowboys, dude wranglers, and people that hold down eight-hour workaday jobs but raise cattle on the side."

 

Cowboy Poetry

 

The round-ups, the brandings,

The calvings are done,

As ranchers sell out

And move on one by one.

 

We must tell the stories,

So memories live on,

Past time when the tellers

Themselves are long gone.

[Jeanway 0]

BEANS

 

Out at my cousin's ranch

we get to eat cowboy food.

I take aunty's advice and fill my plate twice,

'cause mostly it tastes real good.

But when my aunt and uncle

cook up their cowboy beans,

I only submit to sample a bit,

'cause they burn right down to your spleen.

They've got hot sauce and jalapenos,

red peppers and green, I think,

cayenne for flavour and garlic to savour

one taste and you'll need a drink!

Once I fed Rover my beans

his eyes and his nose sprung a leak,

he hung out his tongue, took off on a run

and didn't come back for a week!

If you visit my cousin's ranch,

you're safe with the chili and stew,

but you'll make it routine, to turn down those beans

if you know what's good for you.

Anne Slade

From Denim, Felt & Leather.