Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A COWBOY AT THE CARNIVAL, by ANONYMOUS First Line: "yes, o' cose it's interestin' to a feller from the range" Last Line: An' he thinks o' nothin' but his grub an' hoss an' steers Subject(s): Carnivals;cowboys;ranch Life;west (u.s.); Southwest;pacific States | ||||||||
YES, o' cose it's interestin' to a feller from the range, Mighty queerish, too, I tell you, sich a racket fer a change; From a life among the cattle, from a wool shirt and the chaps To the biled shirt o' the city and the other tony traps. Never seed sich herds o' people throwed together, every brand O' humanity, I reckon, in this big mountain land Rounded up right here in Denver, runnin' on new sort o' feed. Actin' restless an' oneasy, like they threatened to stampede. Mighty curious to a rider comin' from the range, he feels What you'd call a lost sensation from sombrero clar to heels; Like a critter stray that drifted in a windstorm from its range To another run o' grazin' where the brands it sees are strange. Then I see a city herder, a policeman, don't you know, Sort o' think he's got men spotted an' is 'bout to make a throw Fer to catch me an' corral me fer a stray till he can talk On the wire an' tell the owner fer to come an' get his stock. Yes, it's mighty strange an' funny fer a cowboy, as you say, Fer to hit a camp like this one, so unanimously gay; But I want to tell you, pardner, that a rider sich as me Isn't built fer feedin' on sich crazy jamboree. Every bone I got's a-achin', an' my feet as sore as if I had hit a bed o' cactus, an' my hinges is as stiff From a-hittin' these hot pavements as a feller's jints kin git, 'Taint like holdin' down a broncho on the range, a little bit. I'm hankerin', I tell you, fer to hit the trail an' run Like a crazy, locoed yearlin' from this big cloudburst o' fun Back toward the cattle ranches, where a feller's breath comes free An' he wears the clothes that fits him, 'stead o' this slick toggery. Where his home is in the saddle, an' the heavens is his roof, An' his ever'day companions wears the hide an' cloven hoof, Where the beller of the cattle is the only sound he hears, An' he never thinks o' nothin' but his grub an' hoss an' steers. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WESTERN WAGONS by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET DRIVING WEST IN 1970 by ROBERT BLY IN THE HELLGATE WIND by MADELINE DEFREES A PERIOD PORTRAIT OF SYMPATHY by EDWARD DORN ASSORTED COMPLIMENTS by EDWARD DORN AT THE COWBOY PANEL by EDWARD DORN TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS |
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