GENERAL TOPICS > Saddlebag Tales

Cowboy Haiku

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Hambone Dave:
I have been lurking for more than a year. Not in CAS or SASS or NCOWS but maybe someday....anyway this Haiku stuff got my interest grasshopper so for the past few months I tried my hand at some western related ones. Hope you enjoy.

thirst and sun pound hard
hot water drips from the pump
sweat stings the new wound

grassland speaks softly
wind whistles thru the tall pines
death comes in the heat

brushing off the dust
the rattle of cattle horns
singing to the cows

a wall of cat claw
chaps scratched by the branches
the rain brings the frogs

distant bell ringing
full moon over far away hills
smell of a camp fire

dark and quiet night
sound of the wind in the grass
the smell of burnt hide

old rabbit gave up
four clicks of the Colt's hammer
the rocks do not care

too hot for horse flies
follow the bees to water
the smell of dryness

the creak of leather
cattle following along
light headed from heat

relentless hot wind
black buzzards circle overhead
salt encrusted hat

storm clouds over the hill
cactus watch the lightening
calf cannot keep up

the dancing heat waves
branding iron makes the mark
the smell of burnt hide

lizard stands in shade
deer grazing in the meadow
damn squeaky wheel

the roar of the gun
black buzzards circle overhead
ten miles to walk out

a sky full of stars
a dry camp again tonight
time for the whiskey

hawk soars up high
the desert enjoys killing
pigs eating a snake

horse meat in axle grease
smoke rising through the branches
yips in the moonlight

have a good witness
it is so easy to hang
rocks crackle from heat

coiled snake suns self
cattle balling for water
loose shale ahead

smell of a wet dog
the cards may not go your way
the starlight shadows

fish jumps in the air
sunlight shines off pond ripples
get the old boots off

smell of a camp fire
smoke rising through the branches
a sky full of stars

the smell of dryness
dust cloud off the buffalo
the kick of the Sharps

posse pushing hard
all I did was kiss the girl
windmill spins and squeaks

slit eyelids stay open
staked out on an ant hill
birds sing in the tree

the last thirteen steps
gallows rope sways in the breeze
too hot for horse flys

hawk soars up high
javelinas run the wash
brushing off the dust

Well that's it for now.
Later.

PJ Hardtack:
DHass

I'm in awe! I may try my hand. If I recall, haiku needs a few elements - one of them seasonal/weather related, linked to some associated activity. Your verses make them all.

A few feeble efforts:

Rasp of raven's wings
sharptail tracks in the snow
the everlasting cold

eyes water from the cold
cannot feel my feet
fresh tracks urge me on

long moonlit shadows
April blossoms scent the air
footsteps on the path

Not hard to tell that I live where the temp drops to -40*. That's where Fahrenheit and Celsius meet.

Hambone Dave:
Mr. Hardtack, Thanks for the compliment.....you are not doing too bad yourself....fairly easy huh.
I really like your second one the best. It makes me see someone tracking another for revenge or a rescue mission, a hunter after game.

I just write down 5 and 7 syllable phrases then basically take 1 for column A and 1 from column B.....

Everything you mentioned about Haiku is true. I don't do much seasonality but more about a feeling or imagery.

It is fun and the western themes makes it easier to come up with phrases.

Advertising:

PJ Hardtack:
This one was inspired by what I see and hear as I have breakfast:

distant honking of geese
the signs of spring appearing
open water on the ice

This one is for Boston:

smoke, dust, screams and chaos
people dazed, confused, crying
a bird sings nearby

Hambone Dave:
PJ, you are a haiku natural

Here are some more I thought up:

last breath of the horse
lying in a buff wallow
should have wrote the folks

beans, beef and biscuits
a cold wind precedes the storm
wish I was in town

tired of riding
cattle balling for water
cold dry camp tonight

smell of a wet dog
sparks drifting up from the fire
horse meat in the grease

the creak of leather
rutting bucks doing battle
coyote kills quail

loose shale ahead
snow drifts over the dead cow
wrap the slicker tight

coyote kills quail
the desert is full of sound
yips in the moonlight

grassland speaks softly
the calf follows its mother
a bright one today

cold dry camp tonight
saddle pard is always there
singing to the cows

should have wrote the folks
it is so easy to hang
bill of sale was good

Forty more miles
cattle following along
the smell of dryness

singing to the cows
a cold wind preceeds the storm
wrap the slicker tight

its drifting fast now
snow blows in no matter what
wish I was in town

I wish I could shave
mountain making moanin sounds
smelly old soogans

swung open the doors
piano is missing some notes
the wall of hot air

circling the herd
hear some critter gnawing bone
lost one steer today

hawk soars up high
javelinas run the wash
brushing off the dust

card table felt worn out
the town has seen better days
a smelly saloon

layin back thinkin
your right she was real pretty
just watching the stars

gonna buy some clothes
look same dog there as last drive
tired of riding

ice on the edges
mist gathering in the notch
forty more miles

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