Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, NOT WANTED--THE TEXAS RANGERS, by WILLIAM A. PHELON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

NOT WANTED--THE TEXAS RANGERS, by                    
First Line: Out in the sun-blaze, one to ten
Last Line: And now they've no use for the rangers!
Variant Title(s): Not Wanted-the Texas Rangers
Subject(s): Texas Rangers


(The author's inspiration is the court holding that the law under which the
Texas Rangers have long operated is unconstitutional.)

OUT in the sun-blaze, one to ten,
Ringed with Comanche and Cheyenne,
Penned in a buffalo wallow's dip,
Where the arrows "wheep" and the bullets zip,
With the water gone and the horses dead,
And the hot sky flaming overhead—
While the circle closes, narrows, nears,
Till you see the gleam of the charging spears,
Till you see the glare of the snake-black eyes—
Heads up! Show the reds how a Ranger dies!
And now they've no use for the Rangers!

Ride straight and fast on a headlong course,
Scouts miles ahead of the captain's force—
Then you cut their track in the fading light—
Yes, Mexicans—but they will fight!
There's a ranch below on the course they bear,
And women, children, helpless there!
And the vilest thing hell ever made
Is a greaser bandit on the raid!
Off horses, deep in the catclaw brush,
And pump the rifles—stop their rush!
The boys drop fast—but the line holds taut
Till the troop comes up, and the brutes are caught!
And now they've no need of the Rangers!

The stars shone down with a pitying light
On the scene of many a hopeless fight,
On a prairie stretch or a haunted wood,
Where a little group of Rangers stood,
And held them back, white, brown and red,
From trails that are thick with the Ranger dead!
Their composition: sand and grit—
They never knew the verb "to quit"—
They fought grim odds and knew no fear,
They held their honor high and clear,
And, facing arrows, guns and knives,
Gave Texas all they had—their lives!
And now they've no use for the Rangers!





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