Got a Question? Ask A COWBOY POET!
November 2023
That one line that’s a lynch pin. That one turn of phrase that spins you round. That one perfectly crafted clincher that takes it home. Irresistible poems usually have that one moment where their brilliance grabs your brain and won’t let go. This month’s question asks which lines have stood out to the cowboy poets, garnering affection in their memories and their hearts.
"Endearing lines" seem to surface in all great poems. Their importance is immediately recognizable and often compels one to commit them to memory.
One example that tops my list was written by Elizabeth Ebert.
"…and he’d talk about Montana, and you’d get a picture then, of the cowboy that he used to be, and the man he might have been, before war and wife and whiskey had bent him out of shape. Now the war and wife were hist’ry, and the whiskey was escape."
Could you comment on a few specific lines from a poet whose work endeared themselves to you?
Sincerely,
~Wishing I had written that
Annie Mackenzie:
I don’t need no art exhibits
When the sunset does her best,
Paintin' everlastin' glory
On the mountains to the west
And your opery looks foolish
When the night-bird starts his tune
And the desert's silver mounted
By the touches of the moon.
Just a-ridin', a-ridin'—
Who kin envy kings and czars
When the coyotes down the valley
Are a singin' to the stars,
If he's ridin'?
— Badger Clark
When I wanted to delve deeper into classic cowboy poetry and add some into my sets for Elko, I was unsure where to start. I turned to this very column hoping to find some advice. Thankfully someone had asked a question regarding that very topic. The poem “Ridin’” by Badger Clark was mentioned more than once and for good reason. I’ve felt every bit of what he put into prose and could not have worded it half as well. When I read or recite that poem, it takes me back to those moments of beauty that he described. Some might say they are common occurrences. As should I. After all, I make my living horseback in the moon-touched desert and see the sunset on the mountain nearly every day. However, I think it's a rare beauty and I believe Badger Clark captured it perfectly in his poem.
yvonne hollenbeck:
In my opinion, one of the most endearing poems of my era is “The Boys Who Ride No More” by Joel Nelson. That tugs my heart strings every time I hear it and every line brings a flood of memories.
Bill lowman:
Great question—Ya, first off, Elizabeth was in a class of her own, both as a great person and great poet. Here's a tidbit sidenote about Liz. Whenever a bunch of us would go out to eat, I'd always hold the door for her and set her in her chair at the table. She always referred to me as "a perfect gentleman." I'd always tell the others not to blow my cover. Elizabeth always gave me full credit for her "rise to national fame" for first featuring her at my Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
On your question. My good friend, the late Pat Richardson comes to mind. The hook line in one of his humorous poems*, which my memory won't have it word for word, is something like this:
He's so damned embarrassing when company comes around
He'll run his nose between their legs and damn near lift them off the ground
Then on the lawn he'll do his duty and leave it in a heap
If he wasn't my brother, I'd have him put to sleep
Another that Jess Howard and his brother Pat Richardson co-penned about the Donner party reunion invitation. I don't have the rhyme, but it ends, "P.S. Bring a friend for lunch."**
Those silly little lines stay with a person, subconsciously, and are great for a laugh when you're having a "long day" in the saddle.
*“My Brother” by Pat Richardson
**”The Donner Party” by Jess Howard and Pat Richardson
dw groethe:
Fun question…I suppose that most poems you keep to heart have your aforementioned "endearing lines" in them somewhere. That's what makes them classics to me. The problem is there's so many. "Where the Ponies Come to Drink,” "Shipping Cattle In the Fall,” the list goes on and on, but since you seem to want just one, I'll choose Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening.” I first read it somewhere back in high school and it has stayed with me through thick and thin. Really, it's the whole poem that's endearing, but the last verse has the lines that clinch it for me:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
That last line is a contemplative one and always brings a bit of peace to mind.
Hope that works for you and thanks for asking.
Ta daa,
dw
dick gibford:
I recited “Paul Revere’s Ride” at Elko one year. I remember Wally McRae was in the audience and really appreciated my telling of it. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the great old-time poets. The lines in that poem that struck a chord with me were:
Then he said ‘Good night!’ and with muffled oar,
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide in her moorings lay,
The somerset, British man-of-war:
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar,
Across the moon, like a prison-bar
(Those last 2 lines told it all.) This battle that started the next morning was a choice between liberty and tyranny. Paul Revere was the man of the hour! Great poem!
