Remembering Cowboy Poet Chuck Larsen
With the passing last week of a dear friend and noted Cowboy Poet Chuck Larsen, we pause to honor him with a few kind words, tribute and some of his writings and ramblings.
This week, we begin with the opening poem in his first book, “You’re Gonna Get a Kick Outta This!
The Dream
By Chuck Larsen
I’d gone to bed with
Cowboy poetry on the brain.
A habit of late that
I most regularly entertain.
I tossed and turned,
My brain in poetic over time.
The sheep I counted were
Branded with words that rhyme.
Before I knew it,
I drifted off to a dreamy state.
I found myself on stage,
Poised ready to narrate.
It was the gathering of all gatherings,
A really big show,
And all the big names
Were there sittin’ in the front row!
There was Baxter and Waddie,
Zarzyski and McRae.
They were all intent and listenin’
To what I had to say.
The spotlight captured me in its glow,
As if it were a sign.
My mind reached into its poetic tank
And couldn’t find one damned line.
My mouth stood poised
For my first buckaroo rendition.
But what came forth
Were sounds void of human recognition.
I cleared my throat
And gave it another crank.
But I came up empty
And faced by idols point blank.
Ole Baxie cocked an eyebrow,
Zarzyski he looked duped.
McRae was up and leaving,
While poor Waddie’s mustache drooped.
The dream was quickly turning
Into a nightmarish horrification.
From a classic case
Of lost poetic cowboy oration.
The spotlight seemed
To get brighter and brighter.
As my mouth grew dry
And my throat got tighter.
I struggled to escape
That spotlight’s accusing glow.
And woke to face the sunlight
Shinin’ through my window.
I sat up with a start,
Had I blown my one big chance.
Naw, it was just a bad dream
Of little circumstance.
But sometimes dreams have meanin’
Maybe I’ll never know.
But just in case,
I’ve been practicing all day for tonight’s big show.
And practice he did until he became one of the premier cowboy poets in the country. More next week, because we know “You’re Gonna Get a Kick Outta This!”
