Old Joe eased himself down
Onto the broad, muscular back of the bull
Feeling its two ton of muscle and bone
And enormous power, flexing
Through the denim of his Jeans.
Carefully threading his gloved hand
Through the girth band for a firm grip
He felt the pain in his shoulder.
Not yet fully healed from the last fall.
They said he should not be riding yet,
But he needed the money, badly.
Since Mary Jo got sick,
Things had been kinda hard.
He prayed to God that
This would be a good ride and
If not a winner, at least up there
With the paydirt.
This one is for Mary Jo
He murmered as he gave the nod for release.
Whirling his Stetson for balance
They exploded out into the whirling dust
Of the arena.
A kaleidoscope of flashing faces, sky,
Sunfishing, spine-jarring stiff-legged landings
And yellow dirt.
He never heard the pressing clangour
Of the ambulance bell
In his sweet oblivion.
Author notes
option 2 please. Sorry, never been farther west than land`s End, England. Have seen lots of westerns though.
Amended after expert constructive criticism from Suseann. A trophy wining rider from kansas.
A contest entry
- Cowboy Roots by Maybe Anastasia.
300 points, ended June 5, 2007, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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fun to read and appreciate! i really smiled as i read this poem and i think you have a delightful write here! thank you for sharing this because your talent is displayed wonderfully!
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Whirling his Stetson for balance...love that line.
I like the vivid little story that you tell, and I also like the ending. write on
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This has all the earmarks of the anxiety felt by bull riders.However,no neck ropes.The power of the bull when spurred,would kill the animal choking it.It's a wide girth strap covered in sheepskin tickle material.
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Sounds pretty authentic to me and I've never even got as far as Land's End yet! I can feel the grit, the sweat and the hot breath of that angry bull. Great descriptions of the whole tense atmosphere of the rodeo. I wish you well in the contest.
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nice. very good write! I like the descriptions. They were great.The only thing I didn't like is the ending is a little rough but otherwise great write. Thanks for the entry.
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cool i like it
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