poetree

Posted with permission of

jjhunter-- sorry it's late!

To wrap up Cowboy Poetry Week, I thought I'd try my hand at a cowboy poem of my own. I tried to incorporate all the elements-- rhythm, lyrical elements, simple language, cowboy themes. I think I succeeded. What do you think?

( Cowpoke Pony )

If you were to write a cowboy poem, what would you write it about? I write about horses because I love them dearly, and I've always been a horse person. Would you choose the landscape, the loneliness, the cattle? What rhythm or voice would you choose? Would you go more traditional, as I have done, or would you go more contemporary?

Have you sought out any other poems? Is there one or two you particularly liked that you could link? What do you like about cowboy poetry in general?

Any other discussion welcome, of course.

bookblather

Cowboy poetry did not stop when the west was declared a closed frontier. Cowboys still ride and work today, and though they no longer are so isolated as they once were, they still spend much of their time in each other's company. Cowboy poetry, usually recited or otherwise performed, is a thriving genre, with a vast and appreciative community, though it is concentrated largely and unsurprisingly in the western United States. There is even an annual Cowboy Poetry Week, which I have missed by two weeks, but so it goes.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get permission to post any contemporary poems to this community. I was, however, able to get permission to link you to one, so if you don't mind, click on over here to read one of my favorite contemporary cowboy poems, "Old Sorrel Mare Turning More and More Roan" by Paul Zarzyski. I'll wait here.

Back? Okay.

Mr. Zarzyski was actually my first introduction to cowboy poetry, with his book Wolf Tracks on the Welcome Mat. Obviously, he doesn't write traditional cowboy poetry: Old Sorrel Mare does not have a distinct rhythm or a lyrical setup. It does deal with cowboy life, specifically the horse, and contemporary ranching at its most basic: feeding and caring for an old horse who can no longer do the work but is still deserving of love and respect. In that sense, it is much like No Rest for the Horse, narrating a day in the life of the poet, and meditating on horses as partners, almost family.

Most importantly, at least in my mind, Old Sorrel Mare is meant to be performed.

Mr. Zarzyski came to my freshman-year class on road stories to discuss his poetry, and to read a few of them. Old Sorrel Mare was one of the poems he read, and it remained in my head for a long time afterwards, reverberating in his voice. Read it aloud yourself, and hear the stops and starts. It doesn't have a song's rhythm, but there's a beat all its own in there.

Do you agree with me that this is cowboy poetry, for reasons beyond the fact that Mr. Zarzyski is a cowboy himself? If you were to write your own cowboy poem, would you keep the traditional rhythms, or move to more contemporary styles?

I highly suggest reading more of Mr. Zarzyski's poems, incidentally: I had a really, really hard time choosing just one to share.

bookblather

What is cowboy poetry?

Cowboy poetry is peculiarly associated with the history of the American West. Cowboys were (and are) employed by cattle ranchers to care for the cattle, drive them to pasture, and, before the rise of the railroad, drive them north to the meat-packing industrial towns. It is hard, dusty, dirty work, and often very lonely work. A cowboy could go days without seeing anyone except two or three fellow cowboys and his horse. Outside entertainment was rare, so it became common for cowboys to gather at night and entertain each other with songs and stories.

Cowboy poetry is often very lyrical, blurring the lines between poem and song. It often has a distinct rhythm, like hands clapping, the more so the more traditional it is. It usually focuses on cowboy life, ranch work and workers, the landscape, and other related topics. It almost always is narrative in some form. The sound of it is particularly important: cowboy poetry is meant to be read aloud, or sung.

Today, I have a traditional cowboy poem to share, about a central theme of cowboy poetry and cowboy life: the horse.

( No Rest for the Horse )

To me, this poem has all the hallmarks of a cowboy poem: the distinct rhythm and song-like words, the focus on horses as central to life, a vaguely narrative format. It shows pride in horses, and pity for the ones mistreated, kindness on behalf of the speaker, and condemnation of those who mistreat horses. Even the rhythm sounds like a cantering horse, coming in sharp threes and hard beats.

Read this poem out loud: what does it sound like to you?

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28

Entries tagged with theme: cowboy poetry

Cowboy Poetry: Cowpoke Pony

Cowboy Poetry: Old Sorrel Mare Turning More and More Roan

Cowboy Poetry: No Rest for the Horse

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