Cowboy Poetry and Western Verse
Like old stories recited around a country campfire, ranch hands have recited cowboy
poetry for many of the same reasons. It's a Western art form. I hope you enjoy it.
AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT
The Cowboy Poetry and Western Verse section begins by spotlighting the western authors who have contributed at least five poems to the Rope and Wire website. Click on the authors name to read the poems for that author.
If you continue to scroll past the spotlighted authors, you will find many more great Cowboy Poetry by authors who have yet to reach the Spotlight.
More Great Cowboy Poetry and Western Verse
Longhorn Swath
Neal Dachstadter
The Handsome Angus, Hereford Gent,
And deftly crafted breeds were meant
For gentle dell and verdant land
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Heart
By George Rhoades
The old man gripped a cane
With gnarled and wrinkled hands,
Sat down beside me there
In the rodeo arena stands.
Read Full Poem>>
The Old Pony Peter is Now Gone (a Villanelle)
James G. Piatt
The old pony Peter is now gone
There ain’t nothing more to say
For 33 years, he trotted happily along.
Read Full Poem>>
Amos and the Preacher
Freedom Ahn Chevalier
In a rusty old pick-up, he rides across the country
With a dollar tucked in his shoe, and a dream in his heart
His faithful companion is a dog called Amos Andy
Always there by his side, because the crowds no longer come
So Amos and the Preacher make camp for the night
Read Full Poem>>
Change
Jeff Hilderbrandt
The owner of the J bar H had supper with the crew
and later told the foreman, “There’s something you must do.
I’ve noticed quite a pungent and unpleasant sorta stink
coming from the bunkhouse. So this is what I think;
Read Full Poem>>
Last Cattle Drive
Jeff Hildebrandt
This is true. I’m sure it is. The story was reported
widely on the internet. So, the facts were not distorted.
They did it how they did it when they did it long ago.
Cowboys in the saddle, 300 head of cattle
trod the Kansas Flint Hills nice and slow.
Read Full Poem>>
THE FENCE MENDER
Jeff Hildebrandt
Fresh Snow…
Undisturbed…
except by the horse tracks behind him
and the sagebrush,
like polka dots on a bed sheet,
stretching to the mountains ahead.
Read Full Poem>>
RUSTLERS ON THE TRAIL
By: Wayne Brown 2013
The rustlers hit us once again late last night
Took a few more head then stole from sight
If this keeps up at this rate along this ol’ trail
We’ll make it up to Abilene with no herd to sell
Read Full Poem>>
A COWBOY’S WAY
Wayne Brown 2012
Orange and blue sky of morning slowly crawls over the ranch
As the bright sunlight of day begins it slow westward dance
The boys have long left the bunk; starting their day
We work sun up to sundown…it’s a cowboy’s way
Read Full Poem>>
Wire
George Rhoades
They rolled him out into the sun
By the wall at the nursin home;
His mind wandered and he babbled
About old days bein free to roam
Read Full Poem>>
The Nod (for Frank Vincent Ortiz)
Martin Hill Ortiz
I know this might just start a fight but I never liked John Wayne.
It wasn't war or politics, if you'll just let me explain:
Now movie stars always are larger than life and taller than time,
With a dimpled smile in Panavision, they trip the light sublime.
They cast shadows out of sunset that stand grander than any man.
But you don't measure a real cowboy by the life he's larger than
Or how he towers over the Alamo like Widmark with his knife.
You see a cowboy, a true cowboy, is the exact same size as life.
Read Full Poem>>
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S GUNFIGHT
Jason Hunt
Kyle William Lees roams the West with two guns
And a list of thirteen guilty men
They murdered his family and left him for dead,
Never dreaming they’d see him again
But the Angel of Mercy, she spared him
And the Angel of Death knows him well
He smiles each time Kyle pulls his gun and sends one more
Condemned desperado to Hell
Read Full Poem>>
High-Tailin' Away
Clark Crouch
Bill is a good hand, much admired,
and works real hard, for shore.
His love's his lonely cowboy life,
a bachelor to the core.
Read Full Poem>>
COWBOY HEART
Neal Lewing
Cowboy heart, like it says in the Bible,
Treats his sweetheart like an equal.
Nothing so hard as a job that’s simple.
Read Full Poem>>
Two Poems By Clark Crouch
A Boy's Dream
Clark Crouch
The dream of ev'ry boy, it seems,
is to be a cowboy,
ridin' free across this great land...
such dreams fill life with joy.
The Backward Poet
Clark Crouch
Read Both Poems>>
Outline Divine
Bukaru
Look, I said, mister, I never even kis’t ‘er,
And I was lookin’ him right in the eye.
But he was cryin,’ and I was lyin,’
And I felt lower than a snake is high.
She’s a quite a looker, a real honey pusher,
and that would explain his pain.
He’s been here before, he can’t show her the door;
And it’s driving him north of insane.
Read Full Poem>>
Standifered Steer
Bukaru
His name was J W Standifer.
And he was a hand fer a guy up in Jasper;
Wyoming ya know, a little east of Idaho.
And ya ought'a take note all you slow cowpokes;
Cuz' he's known fer an unnatural disaster.
Read Full Poem>>
The Legend of Hugh Glass
Bukaru
The Missouri rolls thru scattered shoals or breaks as known to thee;
Flowing south the breaks align to form a channel free;
Till past a town of some renown to merge with:
The Mississippi.
The gazette goin' roun' St Louis town placed a call forth with;
For mountain men trappers n' adventurous youth:
Of whom were all quite fit.
Conscripts in search of commerce and gold;
Who'll track the great river, its secrets to unfold.
And now the tale shall be passed;
Of the man, Hugh Glass
Little were known of whar' he's born;
Nor 'v whence he did commence.
His spoken word were seldom heard;
Of this was known as fact.
Whispers were thar', of pirates and wars;
of this there was a lack.
And this is whar' he met the b'ar that give him his attack!
Read Full Poem>>
Two Poems by author Keven Heaton
Rebecca and Rodeo Jackson Sundown
Rebecca
a Sunday school teacher-1958
Kevin Heaton
Timelines tracked her face
like starched Sunday pleats.
She had the weathered-leather
look of a drive-weary trail boss,
and a drover’s payday grin
Read Both Poems>>
WHEN CREATION WAS YOUNG
Marvin Hass
Take me out to the edge of creation
Where the land and the rivers are wild
Let me see forever and…then some
To the place where God rested and smiled.
Read Full Poem>>
THE RANGE OF MY HOME
Neal Lewing
When I signed on for this job
I didn’t know I’d be standing in the rain,
or snow up to my eyeballs.
But it’s a dry cold, right?
Read Full Poem>>
Boots of Another Me
L.P. Stribling
There they sit, right by the door,
Those boots of mine, don’t fit no more,
Fit the feet of a younger me,
A shorter shade of a younger tree.
Read Full Poem>>
Six Men Dead
© 2011 (Jim Sularz)
(The true tale of Frank Eaton "Pistol Pete")
At the headwaters of the Red Woods Branch,
near a gentle slope on a dusty trail.
On an iron gate, at the Twin Mounds cemetery,
a bouquet of dry sunflowers flail.
In a grave, still stirs, is a Father’s heart,
that beats now to avenge his death.
Six times murdered by cold blooded killers,
six men branded for a Son’s revenge ….
Read Full Poem>>
The Legend
Mike Berger
The brunt of a thousand jokes.
With a name like Clyde Ebenezer
Hedman, the jokes flowed like the
mighty Mississippi.
Read Full Poem>>
Those Five Cowboys
Raymond Maher
Those five cowboys shared the same bunkhouse at Crooked Creek Ranch
But each of them was one of a kind.
Sid was round and gruff and mostly moody.
The kid was thin and tall and suspiciously shy.
Jed was old and wrinkled and bent of back.
Fred was full of fun and laughter.
And Bob was slow to rise and extremely allergic to work.
Read Full Poem>>
An Old Soldier’s Prayer
Allen Russell
Evening Lord, pardon me for calling on you so late
But, it’s Christmas Eve and I’m feeling mighty old
Nearly everybody here as gone home to be with family and friends
I’m alone in this room; it’s just too quiet, and my feet are cold
I was dreaming I was back at Fort Abraham Lincoln just now
We were just a bunch of excited kids when we turned out that morning for muster
Rumor said we were going to Montana, with the Seventh Cavalry
We’d be taking orders from our new commander, a Colonel, name o’ Custer
Read Full Poem>>
Calamity Jane
Jeff Richards
Some might say
that Calamity Jane came
by her tough character
by tough circumstance.
Read Full Poem>>
Little Dick West
Jeff Richards
What made Little Dick West go bad?
He was a homeless waif.
Rolled up his blankets under the stars.
He was a hard working cowboy
when he met Bill Doolin.
Maybe thats what made him go bad.
Read Full Poem>>
Turning In Our Six-shooters To The Policeman
At The Smithsonian
Jeff Richards
When we visited the Smithsonian
in our cowboy suits,
Wesley Johnson and I
turned in our six-shooters to the policeman
at the front entrance.
Read Full Poem>>
Hopalong Suit
Jeff Richards
The collector tells me
that I can get $3,000
for the Hoppy suit
that Wesley Johnson
is wearing in the photograph.
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy’s Son
Amy Elizabeth
Ain’t it the truth bout there always bein’ one,
His name was Ben, seemed he never got a dang thing done.
He wasn’t much fittin’ for the teachin’s at school,
An’ when he quit most folks were right quick callin’ him fool.
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Nick
Amy Elizabeth
First time I got throwed from a young colt’s back,
I blamed that horse instead of the skill I lacked.
My face was still in the dirt when an ol’ cowboy callin’ himself Nick,
Extended his hand an’ said, “Son, a good horse ain’t never made quick.
There’s one thing you ain’t learned that’s an absolute must,
The first rule of any partnership is based on trust.”
Read Full Poem>>
Tough Job
Harris Tobias
The cowboys were tired after a day in the rain
Tired of ropin’ and brandin' and such
The horses were wet but they didn’t complain
For comfort neither asked much
A little hot grub and a warm dry bed
Was all they ever expected
Some place safe to lay their head
A place they felt somewhat protected
Read Full Poem>>
Bunkhouse Christmas
Harris Tobias
Now a bunkhouse is a barren place
Not all like a regular home
No fancy stuff, no gewgaws
It’s Spartan to the bone
Read Full Poem>>
OLD JETHRO
Harris Tobias
Me and old Jethro were ridin’ the line
Checkin’ the fences and such
The weather was hot but the horses were fine
And the cattle were down in the gultch
I looked at old Jethro, he never said much
He sat tall and straight as a pine
His face was tanned the color of snuff
And his clothes were covered with grime
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Jack
Harris Tobias
Cowboy Jack was big and black
And tough as an old cow’s hide
When it came to a brawl
He’s the man you would call
To keep the odds on your side
Now Jack did his work without any perks
He’d be in his saddle all day
He weren’t no saint
But he never complained
He gave an honest days work for his pay
Read Full Poem>>
Somewhere on the Black Feet Reservation
Anthony Kendrick
(I)
The Great Spirit
made the hardscape
and the softscape
for the landscape.
The scapegoats
have been fenced in,
in the name of progress,
with no hope
for escape
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Movie: Wild Bill Tames The West
And Wins Himself A Wealthy Bride
Gene McCormick
A whirling dust dervish was stirring things up
way out on the prairie horizon, a sight line
usually interrupted only by desolate cacti.
The cloud of dust headed straight for Dodge;
only one man had a winged white horse could go
that hard and fast. One man dressed all in black,
hat pulled low across his eyes sitting ramrod
straight in the saddle&The horseman thundered
full speed up to the Red Dog Saloon,
Old Paints sides heaving from exhaustion,
eyes bulging, white lather foaming across his
scrawny neck and flanks. Whoa, steady, big boy.
Wild Bill swung his leg over the horses haunches
with deliberation, flipped the reins
around the hitchin post and slammed through
the swinging doors so hard they broke
from the hinges.
Read Full Poem>>
Old Bob
Bill Henderson
We was hangin’ all over
The limbs of that tree.
Harley and Jinks,
Shorty and me.
That bull came a’snorting’
From outa the brush,
Diggin’and chargin’
The four of us.
Read Full Poem>>
THE OUTPATIENTS LAMENTI WISH I WAS A COWBOY!
Sam Parry
I wish I was a cowboy, out ridin on the range,
Then broken bones and aching backs wouldnt seem so strange.
I wish I was a cowboy, Id spit Pain in the eye,
You wouldnt hear me whimper or wail or even cry.
Read Full Poem>>
Legends in the Sky
Philip W. Rider
This story's about two legends
One Red Rock, the other is Lane
A tale of how in rodeo
These two champions had gained their fame
Read Full Poem>>
The Tale of Docile Jean
by: Alicia Deets
When she named her Docile Jean, her momma never thought
That she’s grow straight out of her name, be burly and what-not.
Why, right outta the shoot she was anything but dainty,
Had folks for miles around askin “She is a girl, ain’t she?”
Read Full Poem>>
The Emporium
Mike Berger
The main street in our little town is only
two blocks long. It has only a café and
four stores. The supermarket carries
everything from groceries to car parts.
The feed store sells hay and corn and
some alfalfa seed. In the farmers co-op,
you can find anything from seed to
barbed wire. The fourth store is the
Emporium.
Read Full Poem>>
Any Way You Can
Mike Berger
It was the 50th anniversary of the
county rodeo. They were having a
nostalgia day. Cowboys and clowns
dressed in clothes from the 1950s
road in and waved to the crowd.
Read Full Poem>>
Dagger and Dicky Chet
Merle Roehr
The boys he worked with called him Dagger,
cause he carried a long sharp knife.
The old timers called him Dicky Chet,
cause they’d known him all their life.
Read Full Poem>>
RODEO QUEEN
Mike Berger
The guys on the circuit were smitten.
The rodeo queen was the most
gorgeous thing we had ever seen. They
all wanted to ask her out, but she said
they would have to stand in line.
Read Full Poem>>
Two by Mike Berger
Busted
He was hard as nails and as onery as
a wild mustang. At six foot four and
265, you didn't give him any lip. He
could wrestle a steer with one arm
and spit tobacco a mile and a half.
Big Blue
He is tall with skinny legs.
Big Blue is as black as coal but
with a tinge of blue. His coat glistens.
He looks like he has stepped
from the pages of a calendar.
Read Both Full Poems Here>>
The Fastest Gun
By Mike Berger
Lightning fast would be a gross
understatement. He could draw,
shoot and replace his gun in
less than a second.
Paycooos Bill
By Mike Berger
Bill was bad,
mean and vile.
He stood just five foot
four and had a lot
to prove.
Read Both Poems>>
Lash Larue
By Thomas M. McDade
At age ten, I showed no mercy
To vulnerable willow trees
Clocking each and every bough
I never rested until I found
One with snap, span and sinew
To create an imitation Lash LaRue
Read Full Poem>>
The Outlaws
By Bradley McIlwain
I can hear the wind gently ruffle among the thicket,
stirring leaves between thick hollow cut graves,
whispering.
Read Full Poem>>
He Roams Alone
By Allen Coyle
He roams alone down country roads,
And plays in small-town bars.
A poor young man raised on a ranch,
Who strums a worn guitar.
Read Full Poem>>
Miles From Minot
By Bob Moreland
Amber prairie grass bows before
west zephyrs, undulating sea.
Horizon endless, range adore,
just my dappled grey mare and me.
Read Full Poem>>
The White Blanket
By William Guthrie
I am dressed in my family’s finest array.
My body is tense, I feel I am trembling.
My heart is alive, anticipating.
Just beyond the spider-web shadow of a cottonwood tree
with a gentle spring sun caressing my face
Mother Earth blossoms before me.
I go to pray, draped in a blanket of blue.
Read Full Poem>>
Jesse James Poems
5 great poems by author
S. Thomas Summers
Absolution
And all seems fair to me
Jesse James
Livin'
Train's Comin'
Read Full Poems>>
The Saturday Trail
By Patsy Anne Bickerstaff
When I was just a kid, me and my pardners rode the trail
Long dusty days, to drive the ranchers' cattle down for sale.
We'd sit around the fire at night, spin yarns, count shootin' stars
And hear coyotes wail. We sang, to mouth-harps and guitars.
Read Full Poem>>
A Paint Cain't
By James J. Griffin
I was the new man at the Circle Bar J
Hired for roundup, I’d arrived that same day
Riding my own horse, my faithful paint Jed
An old time cowhand eyed him and said,
“Paints cain’t.”
Read Full Poem>>
The Yondering Man
A Tribute to Louis L'Amour
By William Guthrie
The Yondering Man ? the Yondering Man ?
look down the road,
here comes the Yondering Man ?
give him a place in front of the old camp fire ?
Read Full Poem>>
God Made the Cowboy
By William Guthrie
The boots may be dusty
and the heels all run down,
but that's just 'cause
he ain't had time to run into town.
His hat's all grimey from sweat
but he'll tell you it's the
best one he's had yet.
Read Full Poem>>
"1985"
By Rocky Georg Rutherford
I've just hit town not a penny in my jeans,
Been living on candy bars, coffee, and beans.
I been out on the road better part of a year
And what I been doin' just ain't no longer clear.
Read Full Poem>>
The Preacher and the Kid
By William Guthrie
Some of us thought we'd live forever
and some of us had a little more sense,
but we all went to Meetin' on Sundays
for the girlin' and surely not for
too much repentance.
Read Full Poem>>
A Westerner
By William Guthrie
A Westerner finds great pleasure
in most everything they see;
the deserts and the mountains,
both in perfect harmony.
Read Full Poem>>
The Dying Moon
By Rocky Georg Rutherford
Once upon a time a bunch of old cowboys would have their say
At a greasy spoon ouside Lubbock called the Dying Moon Cafe.
Calloused, gallused, withered, water-eyed in ass-gone jeans,
Each told a story of rodeo glory, big bucks, and busted dreams.
Read Full Poem>>
The Carolina Cowboy
By Rocky Georg Rutherford
When I hear the roar of the rodeo
And I see the fans rooting for me
I pause to thank those
Who sacrifice to keep America free.
Read Full Poem>>
THE LESSON
By Mike Gombas Sr.
About the flickering fire light
Children sat with upturned faces
Their eyes were aglow with wondrous delight
As the old shaman told stories of faraway places
Read Full Poem>>
An Incident At The L. C. Saloon
By Mike Gombas Sr.
A persistent driving downpour
Transformed into a quagmire the roads and byways
Getting about was a soggy, unpleasant chore
For ranch hands looking for strays
Read Full Poem>>
A Line in the Sand
By Brad Fitzpatrick
Old Jasp and I rode into town
Behind a herd stretched half a mile
To sell them for the ranch boss
And we’d been on the trail a while
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Retirement
Harold Roy Miller
The aging cowboy watched the cattle graze
amidst the wildflowers all ablaze
and tried to come to grips with all his doubts and fears.
He sat back in the saddle and closed his eyes and pondered
and in his mind, he thoughtfully wondered
why he’d stayed a cow puncher for so many long years.
Read Full Poem>>
Rusted Spurs
By John Darling
My campfire's flames reach for the sky while
Carving out the safe haven in the desert night
That keeps the wolves from gnawing on my ancient bones.
Read Full Poem>>
BACON AND BEANS
By Lee Pierce
IT’S A HUNDRED AND TEN IN THE SHADE AGAIN
AND I’M OUT ROUNDIN’ UP STRAYS
THE SUN’S BEATIN’ DOWN WITH THE DEVIL’S OWN FROWN
ANOTHER HARDWORKIN’ COWBOYIN’ DAY
Read Full Poem>>
OUT ON THE PRAIRIE
by S.E. Hutchison
We buried him out on the prairie
He's sang his final song
But we carried his memory with us
As we drove that herd along
Read Full Poem>>
Only In A Cowboy's World
By S. E. Hutchison
Where do you find the summer so hot
It will melt your very soul?
Where are the winters so blasted cold
They take a terrible toll?
Read Full Poem>>
Shorty and Stubb Go to the City
by Dave P. Fisher
Now, Shorty and Stubb were a couple of real top notch buckaroos,
They’d cut their teeth on latigo leather and had long since paid their
dues.
Them boys never missed with a catch rope and could ride anything with
hair,
Be it outlaw broncs, brahmer bulls, or a dog gone ol’ grizzly bear.
Read Full Poem>>
The Eulogy
By Dallas McCord
Three cowboys died in a wild stampede.
It was one hell of a wreck.
Poor 'ol Charlie was stomped to death,
Slim and Buster broke their necks.
Read Full Poem>>
There Once Was A Cowboy
by C J Friend
There once was a cowboy in old San Antone,
His hoss so skinny you could see every bone.
Yet, faster'n lightnin' that hoss could run
He'd be in Waco by the settin' of the sun.
Read Full Poem>>
Cowboy Philosopher
By Norm Rourke
“Ever wonder why the nights are so clear
out here on the open plains?”
He asked this question with his face upturned,
While I fiddled with my reins.
Read Full Poem>>
Bad Road
By Terry Burns
Got to do 40 miles of real bad road
driving this wagon and toting this load
and when I get through I got me a windmill to fix.
Then I gotta lotta fence to mend
and gotta build a pen for the hens
and gotta fill the firebox with a big armload of sticks.
Read Full Poem>>
Bob Wire
By Terry Burns
I've got me a hold on this old barb wire
and it puts me in a mood to retire
every time I have to come and fix this fence.
I use all the words the preacher don't know
and yes I cuss this so and so
in a manner that just ain't common among gents.
Read Full Poem>>
The Kid
By Dave P. Fisher
She put him on the bus in Vegas, one way bound for her brother Ed,
To his ranch up north and out of the city, before he wound up dead.
He was bad at sixteen, a liar and fighter; he beat all she ever saw,
But it was because there was no man to guide him, the boy he had no pa.
She told her brother to work him hard, and teach him to be a man,
For she had given up and told him, “Do with him what you can.”
Now, Ed was a busy man, with no time to wet nurse a spoiled brat,
So he picked out one of his best men and partnered the kid with Pat.
Read Full Poem>>
Luther's Chicken
By Dave P. Fisher
Luther and the boys were loafin’ on the porch of Harvey’s feed and seed,
Discussin’ the weather and politics, and bragging on their every deed.
Luther and Evert was in a checker game when old Evert made a face,
And scolded the boys for lyin’ and braggin’, and called it a plum disgrace.”
Now, old Evert could tell some mighty tall tales and flat out windies to boot,
But he’d get mad when others told ‘em, so the boys liked to irritate the old coot.
He scowled at a red checker, “I hate it when you boys do that, oh it really gripes,”
Then calm as you please Luther says, “I once had a chicken what played the bagpipes.”
Read Full Poem>>
What Yer Worth
By Harold Roy Miller
My best friend Slim is a shiftless cowboy who would rather count sheep than cows.
When dodging a task, he’ll use every ploy to work no more than the law allows.
One Day we were hanging out at the local feed storeout of a job with no real plans,
when we heard the owner of the C Bar 4 needed a couple of full-time hands.
Read Full Poem>>
SIMPLE PLEASURES
By Stephen Gese'
A good steak hangin on the spit
fried tatters in a pan
brown dutch oven biscuits
cold peaches from a can
Read Full Poem>>
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