You don’t have to be a cowboy to write about cowboys. You have to be a cowboy to write Cowboy. Once you’ve dirtied your boots, cinched your saddle, seen the sunrise, and rounded the cattle then you can sit down and start to write with dirt under your fingernails and the smell of the ranch in your coat. Scribble in a notebook, on a napkin, on a piece of bark. Let your words start to paint pictures of the ranch. Let them convey the soft light of the sky just before sunrise, and the sharp nature of the stars over open range. Write them all down so that when the labor is done, you can work them like leather into something smooth and worn.
At the Badger Clark gathering in Hot Springs, S. D., and Neb., Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Valentine, Nebraska, men who have spent their whole lives working from the backs of horses and with their hands showed their tough skins in humble poetry. They live the Western tradition day in and day out, and find passion in conveying the beauty of their land and labor to those who care to listen.
These men stand square-legged with hands on belt buckles, and speak in deep voices through their thick moustaches about the real Western way of life. In their words is a desire to preserve the spirit of the pioneer; in their performance is a solemn manner that is as enthralling as a rope around a calf’s neck. Each line is a taste of a life outdoors, of hard work and sweat, and of time spent under a hat and over a horse, in sun and snow and wind and dark.
These ranchers and cattlemen translated their perspectives of Western tradition and lifestyle into carefully metered rhymes. The poems themselves are simple and literal, but their recitation is rich with enthusiasm and keen intent. The words that spill from the mouth of a Cowboy are earned and full of purpose.
For those of us who would like to craft poems of our own, the Cowboys have a few tips on how to work the reins.
First, do the work. Edit your poem to make it readable by a stranger. Craft the lines to be effortless, and allow the story to flow without needing explanation. Avoid distractions in the meter like near-rhymes. If you are stuck in a writer’s block, try sticking your first line in the middle of the page. In regards to the length, Marty Blocker said, “You can curry it and clean its feet,” but keep your early poems to less than three-minute performances.
Second, address your audience. Use a rhythm in your writing that develops an exciting performance. Avoid diluting your poem with a lengthy introduction, telling the poem before it’s told. Expect the audience to come with a healthy appetite for this heritage and tradition, and recognize that they want you to succeed. Remember, the performance is a tradition, as these poems keep roots in stories and songs chattered around the campfire.
Finally, find yourself in your words. Write with authenticity about your own experiences. Make them tangible and distinct, but direct. Simplify your lines, and then do it again. As Ken Cook says, “A poem is never finished. You just finally quit.” Be true to your own diction and write how you talk. In the end, it’s you who must be satisfied with the art. You must perform your poem… your words, your vision. Above all, a Cowboy poet needs courage to be both the main character and narrator in his poems of life on the range.
The Cowboys cherish their heritage as fervently as they provide for their family. Their fear is not of a hoof or bone-breaking fall or coyote, but that their carefully preserved tradition will be lost to a generation of cubicles and computers.
They fear their love for ranching and the Western way of life will fade in the youth, and thus their words and rhymes will fade with them.
Cowboy poet Slim McNaught said, “We have an obligation to keep the heritage alive for the next generation and to honor the cowboys that came before.”
We must all grasp a rein on this colorful culture and show our support for the lifestyle of the American Cowboy. It’s been said that “as long as there’s someone swinging a leg over a horse or punching a cow, somebody’s gonna talk about it.” Let’s keep the conversation going… hats on, eyes on the horizon, and seat in the saddle.
