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Best Poems From
GREENWOLFE 1962
(MARCH 23, 1951)
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37.
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Jake , The Rounder
They called him Jake , The Rounder ,
He did just as he pleased .
He always made a legend of
The life through which he breezed .
He played each game a plenty
And always won his share .
But it was at a hustler's game
His legend came to bear .
He took ole Stanley Moses
For quite a wad one night .
As Moses thought he had him beat ,
But it was Rounds all right .
Jacob Brooks had met a girl
And tried to make a play .
Then Rounder found them both alone
Just at the break of day .
Rounder's girl , or so he claimed ,
Would never stray again .
And Jacob Brooks was never seen .
Where did he go back then ?
Janie Clark was next to run
Afoul of Rounder's games .
They found her in an ole creek bed ,
Said killed by Corey James .
Rounder took ole Perry Smith
For one and forty two .
All that good ole Perry had .
He died , that's all we knew .
Rounder next met Mickey Starr
At Simpson's Bar and Grill .
And rounder might have lost that night ,
But he gave Starr a pill .
I don't think he ever knew ,
And no one dared to say .
And who would be the first to get
In Jake The Rounder's way ?
Rounder ruled the bars back then .
Most closed now , as you know .
But Jake sure left the only way
A man like him should go .
There he was , next to a tree
One cold December day .
His body blistered by the heat
Of branding irons , they say .
You may wonder who it was
That left him as he be .
I guess it's time I tell the truth .
His girlfriend , Jane , and me .
GREENWOLFE 1962
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38.
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Lamented Life
I saw you prancing in the dark.
You seemed to have such joy.
My father brought you home that day,
And said you weren't a toy.
So very soon, I learned to ride;
That I might be with you.
And you became a cherished friend,
The first I ever knew.
We were alone most of the time.
We lived so far out here.
My life was oh so simple then.
We roamed so far, but near.
I kept you well as best I could,
With lots of oats and hay.
You stood beside this old grey rock,
To help me mount each day.
You were so big, and I was small;
But to me you were so kind.
They always said you weren't too smart,
But I really didn't mind.
You seemed to like me on your back.
I rode each time I could.
I so enjoyed your company
As any young boy would.
And so it was, until the day
When I just had to leave.
I said good-bye and then I went.
There was no time to grieve.
My father wrote and spoke of you.
He said you did quite well.
You often waited at the rock
Until the evening fell.
The other day, he said you changed
And didn't anymore.
I wondered then, should I return
To ride you as before?
So yesterday, I made the time
To visit my best friend.
Now here I am in your corral.
So lonely in the end.
You stayed with me just long enough,
Dear thanks to God above;
For me to hear you one last time
Repeat your sound of love.
I wonder now about my life.
The love we shared and knew.
And wish I'd never spent a day
Of it, not here with you.
For what is life, but moments spent
In doing what we choose.
Seeking things we think we want.
Forgetting, those we lose.
I think I've learned my lesson now.
In life, you just can't win.
Unless you cherish what you have
Of friendship, now and then.
So I'll stand on the old grey rock
Until my dying day.
When you'll return, and once again.
I'll mount, and ride away.
GREENWOLFE 1962
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39.
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Life Without A Name
As rain came down in rhythm ,
My teardrops fell in rhyme .
The wind blew love around me .
I missed it all this time .
The charm of every season
Was lost with every word .
And the sound of our contentment
Was something never heard .
The chill of every winter
Came early in the fall .
And the burning heat of summer
Came with no warmth at all .
Our burning lives made passion ,
With flaming love no part ;
Till all our world was ended
By a misplaced empty heart .
It lasted near a lifetime ,
But I dare not place the blame .
I took it all for granted ,
Our life without a name .
GREENWOLFE 1962
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40.
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Life's Companion
Fear, is life's companion.
And death's from which it springs.
So do not drink its water.
Refresh in other things.
Life, which has no father.
No faith to make its form.
Is destined to be famished,
As that's the troubled norm.
Life's not born of wisdom.
It's born of having faith.
For that's the form of substance
Contained in every wraith.
Every life's companion
Shall fade as time goes by.
If man can find the courage,
That says you shall not die.
Here is life's true wisdom,
That fear may fade away.
Believe you have a father,
And you shall drink each day.
GREENWOLFE 1962
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