BETHLEHEM PINE, a cowboy Christmas poem by Stephen Bly I was camped out in the Dakota snow When Christmas Eve rolled around. Me and Slim and a dog named Flop, Three days ride from town. Not a tree in sight for thirty miles, As we huddled in the draw. The chips ran out […]
Ridin’ the Divide by Stephen Bly I thought I saw a coyote try to cut across my trail … A bag of bones, a pointed nose, a scrawny, matted tail. Most coyotes ain’t worth rememberin’ or wastin’ too much pity. But I hadn’t spied a civilized thing since I left El Paso City. […]
Poetry That Rhymes Preferred by Cowboys by Stephen Bly Most all cowboys write poetry that rhymes. It’s not that cowboys are opposed to blank verse or free verse. But most poems they compose are done on horseback without pencil, paper or computer screen to record the flow of ideas. Much easier for him or her […]
Old West Saying: Wink As Good As A Nod … Tracks Along The Trail with Stephen Bly An Old West saying went, “A wink is as good as a nod to a blind mule.” In other words, if the mule is blind, no amount of motion whatever is going to motivate him. You could stomp, […]
The Snows of Mt. Moriah: Wild Bill & Me, Cowboy Poetry by Stephen Bly I climbed straight up the mountain to see where Wild Bill lay, After Jack McCall did him in that fateful August day. There was snow on Mt. Moriah when I hiked through Deadwood pine. A hundred years had come […]
The Flag Upon The Hill, Patriot Cowboy Poetry by Stephen Bly There ain’t much left at RimRock, just that flag upon the hill, saggin’ boards of the old schoolhouse, and Peterson’s feed mill. Some gravel roads and old concrete is what most people see. I tell you there was a town there once, just […]
The West Will Truly Be Won, from cowboy poetry western book by western author Stephen Bly The West Will Truly Be Won (from When The Cowboys Come To Town, a cowboy poetry western book) When the world came West in ’49, it was called the promised land. Big and wild and open and free, room for all […]
Finding the Romance in Novel Research by western author Stephen Bly When a cowboy writer does novel research, the sight of a landmark can spark an idea for a full-fledged novel … or just a poem. Southeast of Four Corners, New Mexico is Shiprock, an impressive example of a volcanic neck or a […]
DECEMBER IS A GOOD MONTH TO COWBOY Here’s some Christmas cowboy poetry by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. December is a good month to cowboy, if you’re fond of the wind, snow and cold. It ain’t that I don’t like winter, boys, it’s just tougher when a man grows old. Snow whipped down off […]
This Man Called Stuart Brannon, A True Western Hero, Cowboy Poetry by Stephen Bly He drove a herd from Texas, Did what none had ever done. He stocked his ranch and took a chance In the Arizona sun. His Lisa died, the baby, too, The pain was quite severe. The cattle dropped, his whole […]
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