As the embers die – Cowboy poetry for dVerse

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·


By crackling fire as the embers die
the stories told, much better than the dust
and bourbon swags makes voices fly
to truth of starlight we can trust

By crackling fire as the embers die
of horses strong and women that I’ve met
the tales unfold to moonlit sky
but deep inside I can’t forget

Come hop along and sing my song
I ain’t gone home till very long

By crackling fire as the embers die
as evening’s silence comes to sunken chest
my sorrow grows but tears are dry
despite the lies my home is best

By crackling fire as the embers die
I go to sleep in silent solitude
around me all the cattle lie
such is my cowboy attitude

Come hop along and sing my song
I ain’t gone home till very long

Cowboy singing by Thomas Eakins

Cowboy singing by Thomas Eakins


Today at dVerse we are doing Cowboy Poetry under guidance of Shanyn Silinski. Can’t say I can master Cowboy lingo, but I wanted to write something that’s possible to sing so meter is comparatively consistent between the verses. I reckon many cowboys were quite homesick under all the bravado.
—
August 10, 2013

31 responses to “As the embers die – Cowboy poetry for dVerse”

  1. Bjorn, I can really feel this poem….sitting around that crackling fire watching the sun go down! You have captured the ‘cowboy attitude.’

  2. very lyrical piece man…i can easily hear the chorus…Come hop along and sing my song I ain’t gone home till very long…you def have me sitting by the fire…smiles.

  3. I can definitely imagine a group of cowboys gathered round the campfire after a hard day’s work and chanting this.

  4. so will you sing this for us tonight at the pub…i’ll bring my guitar…ha… we make a bonfire…a few whiskeys…smiles…cool björn…can def. be a song

  5. Gosh, not only is English not your first language, you can speak/write/sing cowboy! So impressive! This links back to the prosody (?)…I don’t have an email for a new dverse prompt. Well done, Swedish cowboy!

  7. That is full of emotions. I liked the way you used the perspective of a lonely homesick cowboy. I love your refrains; they are always wonderful in giving an extra flavor to your creations.

  9. Bjorn, this is about as authentic as Baxter… really loved your refrain and the repeat of the first line. I could hear this being sung and could almost smell the campfire, hear the crackle of wood embers. LOVED THIS. Amy (Yours inspired me to take a crack at it, with much different results!)

  10. Leave it to you to create real cowboy poetry in the hills of Scandia. Really impressed with the form, and the poem must be spoken, sung, and it appears extremely authentic; congrats on this fine effort.

  11. Bjorn – this is awesome! I love it! You brought it all together in a way that can be read, recited or sung around the fire. Thanks for riding with us!

  20. By crackling fire as the embers die
    of horses strong and women that I’ve met
    the tales unfold to moonlit sky
    but deep inside I can’t forget

    This is the life that the cowboy holds on dear and for which memories linger on. Too much variety to gather and not to forget easily! Nicely Bjorn!

    Hank

Leave a reply to Liz Rice-Sosne Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.