Home on the Range: Cowboy Poetry

Author: A Variety of authors
Selected By: Paul B. Janeczko
Illustrator: Bernie Fuchs
Publisher and date of publication: Dial Books, 1997
Genre: Poetry (Multicultural)
Grade: 3-5

Cowboy's Favorite
By: Barney Nelson

When a mn spends his life on horse back,
And the country's been his home,
There are thing he learns to love
As across the range he roams.

There's a scent of burning cedar
And the rhythmic windmill creak,
The song of a friendly mockingbird,
And sunshine on his cheek.

There's the smell of boiling coffee
Or a lonely coyote call,
The smell of sweaty horseflesh
And a lost calf's mournful bawl.

The light from a kerosene lamp
And the early flow'rs in spring,
These are but a few of
A cowboy's favorite things.

But there's one thins that the cowboy
Love more than all the rest,
That makes him glad to be alive
And puts strenght in his breast.

It's not the song that a fiddle play
Or the money in his jeans.
It's not a brand new pair o' boots
Or a pot of pinto beans.

It's the promise from the Foreman,
Who rules the Range on High,
That the cows will once more fatten
And that the short grass will not die.

This smell that every cowboy loves,
No matter what the season,
And this sound that chases frowns away
No matter what the reason,

Is a simple thing that fills his heart
With peace from crib to cane,
The gift that brings life to his home,
The sound and smell of rain.

- First I want to talk about this poem. I loved it. I believe that it captured the pure essence and heart of a cowboy. It describe why he is a cowboy and portrays the love and passion that he has for his life's work. Beneath all the hardships that cowboys may face there are just some simple things that put them at peace. I love how the poem starts out by telling what he loves about the open range. He uses so many of the elements of poetry. The sound of the mockingbird, the smell of the cedar and the rhythm of the windmill. i could even feel the sunshine on my cheek as I read the words. He continues to include our senses with the smell of coffee and horseflesh. Things that when you read you can't help but find yourself searching for those smells in your memory. I couldn't stop thinking to myself about breathing in a nice deep breath of that fresh brewed coffee and I can understand how he loves that smell. He forms great images in your head about the lone coyote, lost calf, light from the kerosene lamp. I mean every line just seemed to take me further and further in to the land of the cowboy. After the author focus on the nature part of the cowboys favorites, he then goes on to say what aren't his favorites. I was not surprised to see that these things were materialistic item like boots, money, pinto beans and stuff like that. The author really put emphasis on the fact that cowboys were into materialistic people. They had a true love and passion for the land and all that it possessed. In the end nothing pleases the cowboy more than the SOUND AND SMELL OF RAIN. I just thought to myself how true is that. THere is nothing more pleasant that sitting on a porch listing to the rain hit the roof and the ground. Taking in a deep breath of that fresh, clean scent of rain. I truly can wash all your blues away. The poem had my so engrossed that I fell in love with it. I hope that you can see the beauty that I see in this poem.
The book is a wonderful collection of Cowboy Poetry. There are poems that discuss the image of a cowboys, the belies, daily routine, and the rare life of a cowboy. Some of the poems discuss life on the range while other talk about being a common hand and rodeo cowboy. There were many about the nature of the range that talked about landscape, animals, wind and rain. Al the beauty and hardships that the terrain faces were in these poems. There was even one about friendship and finding that lifelong friend. There were a couple about cowgirls and how they had to work hard to succeed in this business. The topics and stories addressed in this book are endless and not to mention timeless. After I was done reading I wanted nothing more than to travel back in time to be there, smell the smells and see what they see. The illustration of done with pencil and oils. THe more intricate things are in pencil. Things like a cowboy or a town, trees and animals. Whatever it was the poem was putting emphasis on that is what the pencil drew. The oil was indescribable but not neat. Meaning it seemed to run all other the page is colors of brown, green, blue and gold. Colors that to me represent that openness and landscape of the life of a cowboy. The illustrations really portrayed the perfect image that the poem was trying to capture. I enjoyed this anthology so much and I look forward to reading many more and introducing this one into the classroom.

- This book would be a great way to start a topic on the west, cowboys or even animals that are on used on the farm. There are many different approaches to this book. The poems are not limited by any means. I however would have to use the whole book, have them read all the poems and then focus on a few. Like for the poem I chose I would have my students create a poem about their favorite things. I would ask them to use the same format and try to leave out materialist things as there favorites. There is a great poem about friendship. You could have your students explore what they think are good qualities of a friends and maybe have them create a poem for a friend. Another one that really sticks out was a poem called Riding the Wind. i would love to have my students think about when and how they could ride the wind and write a poem about it. There are so many opportunities I just hope you don't forget this book when it comes time to talk about the west in your classroom.