COWBOY POETRY

[frank manasseri]

PURT NEARBy S. Omar Barker

They called him purt near Perkins, For unless the bugger lied. He'd purt near done most everything that he had ever tried.He'd purt near been a preacher and he'd purtnear roped a bear, He'd met up with Comanchees once, and purt near lost his hair.He'd purtnear wed and heiress who had money by the keg. He'd purtnear had the measles and he'd purtnear broke his leg.He'd purtnear been a trailboss and accordin' to his claim, He'd purtnear shot Bill Hickhock which had purtnear won his fame.He'd purtnear rode the broncs upon which no one else had stuck, In fact he was the cowboy who had purtnear drowned the duck.Now mostly all the cowboys on the Lazy S.B. spread, They took his talkin' with a grin and let him fight his head.But one named Tom Mc Guinness sorta told it to him rough. You're ridin' with an outfit now, where purt near ain't near enough.We tie our lass ropes to the horn, and what we catch we hold. And purt near is one alibi we never do unfold.In fact right now I'll tell you, that no two words I hear, Sounds quite so plain dern useless as that little pair purt near.That’s how old Tom Mc Guiness laid it out upon the line. And like a heap of preachin' talk, it sounded mighty fine.But one day Tom Mc Guiness while a ridin' off alone, He lamed his horse and had to catch some hostile nesters roan.To ride back to the ranch on, but somewhere's along the way. A bunch of nesters held him up, and there was hell to pay.

Tom claimed he hadn't stole the horse, just borrowed it to ride. Them nesters hated cowboys and they told him that he lied.They cussed him for a horse thief, claimed they'd caught him with the goodsAnd set right out to hang him in a near by patch of woods.They had poor Tom surrounded with their guns all fixed to shoot,It looked like this poor cowboy sure had heard his last owl hoot.They tied a rope around his neck and throwed it o'er a limb,And Tom Mc Guiness purt near knowed this was the last of him.When suddenly a shot rang out from somewhere up the hill,Them nesters dropped the rope and ran like nesters sometimes will.When bullets started wizzin' Tom's heart lept up with hope,To see old Purt Near Perkins ridin' toward him at a lope."Looks like I purt near got here just in time." old purt near Perkins said,"To see them nesters hang you." Toms face got kind of red."You purt near did," he purt near grinned, "They purt near had me strung.""You're lookin' at a cowboy who has purt near just been hung.""And also one who's changed his mind for no two words ever said,""Can sound as sweet as PURT NEAR when a man's been purt near dead!"

[Susan Pavlica Joyce]

Love this. Thanks. I still have a copy of the little book, "Don't Squat with your Spurs on"