Llano Vaqueros Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca

Llano Vaqueros

Rating: 3.3


Padilla unloads mangy herd of Mexican
cattle in the field.
Meaner, horns long and sharp
for bloody battle, lean from a diet
of prairie weed, looking more
like cattle did years ago
on the plains
than cattle now–
sluggish, pampered globs
stalled year round
for State Fair Judges to admire,
stall-salon dolls, hooves manicured
and polished, hide-hair blow-dried, lips
and lashes waxed.
I ride down the dirt road
on Sunshine (my bay mare)
and she smarts
away from their disdainful glare–
come in, try to lasso us,
try to comb our hair.
I admire my ancestors, llano vaqueros,
who flicked a home-made cigarette in dust,
spit in scuffed gloves, grabbed one
by the horns, wrestled it down,
branded it, with the same pleasure
they enjoyed in a bunk-house brawl.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Smoky Hoss 21 December 2013

My hereos have always been Cowboys

2 0 Reply
READ THIS POEM IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Jimmy Santiago Baca

Jimmy Santiago Baca

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Close
Error Success