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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

COWBOY'S COMPLAINT, by                    
First Line: I wouldn't be a cowboy for a skunk-boat full of gold!
Last Line: "an' then he kinder grins an' says: ""I wouldn't -- but I am!"
Alternate Author Name(s): Barker, S. Omar
Subject(s): Cowboys


"I wouldn't be a cowboy for a skunk-boat full of gold!
It's swim with sweat in summer an' it's freeze in winter's cold.
It's roll out with the morning star an' lace your saddle on,
An' swaller bitter coffee long before the gray of dawn.

At snoozin' time for city folks, you step acrost your kack
To git your innards jolted as your pony warps his back.
It's round 'em up an' swing a rope an' wrastle down a calf,
An' earn your daily wages -- 'bout a dollar an' a half!
It's herd dust down your gullet with the air too thick to chew,
An' plenty times the water's such you've got to chew it, too.
It's set-fasts on your hunkers an' your legs so sprung an' bent
That your pants would fit a wagon-bow without no argument.
You eat so much hawg-boozem that a grunt's your greetin' hail,
An' you dassent take a look for fear you've growed a curly tail!
It's take the ramrod's powders when he wants to swim the crick,
An' lean against a bullet when the rustlers try a trick.
It's hunt a trail or slide the groove or ride a lonely line;
It's cut the herd an' herd the cut an' watch for Injun sign.
It's lay upon a Tucson bed amongst the centipedes
An' dream about the easy life them city fellers leads.
I wouldn't be a cowboy for a skunk-boat full of gold --
It's 'cut a rusty' while you're young an' 'cut-back' when you're old.
I wouldn't be a cowboy -- " Thus the snort of Soogan Sam,
An' then he kinder grins an' says: "I wouldn't -- but I am!"





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