Cowboy Legacy & Western Ways

Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch
by Margo Metegrano, Editor, CowboyPoetry.com

Cowboy poetry and Western music events are plentiful in May. They include the 20th annual Chuck Wagon Gathering and Children's Cowboy Festival at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City; the 8th annual Motherin' Up Gathering of Poets and Pickers in White Sulphur Springs, Montana; the semi-annual Dollar Watch Cowboy Jamboree in Winthrop, Washington; the 12th Annual Cowtown Society Of Western Music Swingfest in Mineral Wells, Texas; the Green Forest Cowboy Poet Gathering and Trade Show in Green Forest, Arkansas; the new NV of the West in Reno, Nevada;  the 5th annual Canadian Rockies Cowboy Festival in  Nordegg, Alberta, and many more.

One of the oldest events is the 24th annual Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Medora, North Dakota, which takes place on Memorial Day Weekend. South Dakota poet and master leather craftsman Slim McNaught will perform on the afternoon stage at the Medora event.Slim's recent CD, Reminiscin' received the 2009 Academy of Western Artists Top Cowboy Poetry Album award. It includes the following poem, which he says was inspired by the Black Hills landscape, with "a high ridge that appeared to go right into the sky."

WHERE THE HARD GRASS MEETS THE SKY

When time began God promised man
        a lifetime of sweat and toil
So we started our clan where the coyote ran,
        in the west, on hard grass soil.
Where winter's snow and summer's blow
        took it's toll on those who'd try
To tame this land with calloused hand
        where the hard grass meets the sky.

We were young and free with a need to be
        out where the rivers run
And we did our work with nary a shirk
        from dawn 'til the settin' sun.
We stomped our broncs while the wild geese honked
        and the prairie sharpened our eye
Of dangers there we had our share
        where the hard grass meets the sky.
 
We'd mount our horse and set our course
        by the stars of early dawn
Each trail we rode by the cowboy code
        'til the sun had come and gone.
Then squat on heels and eat our meals
        with campfire smoke in our eye
And we thanked our God for this prairie sod
        where the hard grass meets the sky.

When winters hold on a range so cold
        gave cowboys a dangerous trip
And horses then were our best friends
        as the blizzard tightened it's grip.
With each comrade lost we counted the cost
        of hardships we all lived by
And inside we cried as the night wind sighed
        where the hard grass meets the sky.

But our faith was true 'til our work was through,
        we finished each job with pride,
Each blessing received because we believed
        made us thankful we'd stuck to the ride.
When my time comes and my roundup's done
        and Heaven is waitin' close by
I'll ride o'er the ridge when my Master bids
        where the hard grass meets the sky.

© 2007, Slim McNaught, All Rights Reserved

In addition to performing at Western events and creating his fine leather work, Slim serves as the "lariat laureate" of the daily Live With Jim Thompson radio show (livewithjt.com) and he wrangles the event listings for CowboyLegacy.org.

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