An Invitation

During our last conversation, The Badger said I too had the basic talent to become  poet lariat if I followed those rules. With that challenge and the approval then granted by The Badger,  I finally accepted that title nearly twenty years ago when I was about 75 years of age and had already become  a successful western and cowboy poet, publisher, and performer without bothering with the title of Poet Lariat. 

At the youth camp when I was 12 he had really opened the door for me and as soon as I arrived home from the event, I wrote my first cowboy poem, Cowboys! It claimed first prize in poetry at the Blaine County Nebraska Fair that year and remained on my performance list throughout my appearances over the years. Here it is: 

Cowboys

Cowboys used to wear guns at their side 
and they the bucking broncos did ride. 
They snubbed them down with a lasso rope 
  Bucked them out and went away at a lope.
 
When the ponies came back, they were  tired and sore 
But the cowboys were still ready for more. 
To eat they had coffee, beans and jerky 
And once in a while a fat wild turkey.
 
Round the campfire at night stories they told, 
Stories of themselves, daring and bold. 
On the guitar they played many chords 
And sang of the prairie where they were the lords.
 
When I am grown, a cowboy I'll be 
And most the west I'll be sure to see. 
I''ll follow the ways of the punchers of old 
Roping, riding and gallant as we have been told. 

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