BLUE RIBBON WINNER-Charlie Russell Poetry Contest
 

Charlie Russell Poetry Contest
  2005

                             MIKE LOGAN
Author of three books dedicated to Charles M. Russell-
"Men Of The Open Range"
"Laugh Kills Lonesome"
"Bronc To Breakfast"

Recognized in this contest for his three books and and his poem- "Men Of The Open Range".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 




 

 


Men Of the Open Range by Charles M. Russell
 

Men of the Open Range

I can see the ghosts of riders
Movin' out across the dawn.
The gold of the day's first comin'
   Paints their passin', then they're gone.

They were men of open ranges.
No wire cut their kingdom then.
They rode as knights on grassland oceans.
Lords, beyond the townsman's ken.

They made circles on the rangelands
Eagle wild and dog wolf free.
Bounded only by horizons,
Flung so far no eye could see.

I could hear the leather creakin'
And the jinglin' of the spurs
And the whisperin' of hoofbeats
and the hiss of lucifers.

As they're lightin' up the makin's
On the way to gather cows
In the breaks of the Big Muddy
With the freedom God allows.

Only to the few, the chosen,
To the horsemen on the land
Where a man could see the elephant
Or know his Maker's hand.

They could be both proud and humble
For the gift of Sky and space
That would make those unfamiliar
Fear the vastness of the place.

They were men who'd trade no other,
Be he commoner or king,
For to ride the far sung places
And to hear the west wind sing.

Was to know the horseman's Holy Grail
know paradise each morning
Where horse as gift of God to man
And yet to know the warning.

That all could change, that all could change
Beyond the nightmares they might see.
That men could come with plows and fences
Like some plague, could steal their free

And easy rides out in the dawning,
Steal their wild and open range.
Steal the jingle from the spurs and
Ring their death knell with the change.

But they were men of open ranges.
No wire cut their kingdom then.
They rode as knights on grassland oceans
Lords, beyond the townsman's ken.

I can see the ghosts of riders
Movin' out across the dawn.
The gold of day's first comin'
Paints their passin'. Now they're gone.
 Mike Logan ©1993
 

 
 

About the Author - MIKE LOGAN

                            In the words of Wally McRae-
                   (From the forward of  "Bronc To Breakfast")

     "I have a suspicion there are about twelve Wilson trailer loads of "Cowboy" or "western" poets clattering around the countryside. Each poet has a boot box half full of poems. If you unloaded them all and worked the herd, you'd be lucky if you ended up with enough hands for a branding crew.

    Mike Logan would be in the keeper cut.

    Mike is a bit embarrassed when he is referred to as a cowboy poet because he doesn't follow the cow around for a living. The western landscape is  overflowing with folks who, although they may (or may not) be top hands, wouldn't know an iamb from an anapest if they had one on the end of a thirty-foot lariat.

      Mike knows. His meter is as tight as the top wire on a new bull pasture fence. His rhyme is not only right on target, but a bullseye every time. In addition to all this, he is a master story teller.
 
      Enough said. Enjoy his writing.

                                                                     Wally McRae
 

       (That is one mighty fine tribute coming from the author of probably the most famous contemporary poem around..... REINCARNATION.)

      He was a teacher in the Helena, Montana school system for twenty-five years; and he says he loved every minute of it. He taught high school Spanish and English in grades 8 through 12. The last  sixteen years, he taught only Spanish. He has a Bachelors degree from the University of Tulsa; and a Masters degree from the University of Missouri.

     While Mike was teaching, he began getting requests during the school year to appear at poetry gatherings from places as widely separated as Alaska, Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and California. For ten years he had to find a substitute teacher for the time he appeared at  the National Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He didn't want these appearances to interfere with his teaching; so in 1991, he retired.

     Mike Logan is a ranch and wildlife photographer, whose efforts to capture ranch life on film led to many of his poems. He is the author of two books of verse and colorful photographs "Montana is" and "Yellowstone Is". Of course, this is in addition to his three book commemorating Russell; Bronc To Breakfast, Laugh Kills Lonesome and Men Of The Open Range.  His words and photography have  appeared in numerous books, magazines and calendars.

     Mike's three books of Cowboy-western poetry containing poems  relating to Charles M. Russell, are a pleasure to read. He is a clever wordsmith and a technical master of meter and rhyme.  He uses it skillfully to transport the reader  to the Old West of Charlie Russell and then back to the ranch life of today. I've had the pleasure of reading all three of his books. He's one of the best.

      In the words of Baxter Black, "If any pilgrim wants to understand the code of the west, the cowboy way, or the universal popularity of the cowboy, read "Few Words" by Mike Logan. It's never been said better."  For your added pleasure, here's that poem:
 

 

 FEW WORDS

 His first day on the outfit
This boy don't raise no row.
You know right  quick by watchin'
He's no stranger to the cow.
He does the things that's needed
An' the way he does 'em's right.
But the ol' big augur's with us
An he's some on the fight.

The ol' man he's a pawin' dirt.
tells this boy, pushin' some,
"I'm a man of mighty few words.
If I say you come, you come."

This new hand he don't scare much.
He stops an' builds a smoke.
You see the way he eyes the boss
He ain't been gentle broke.

"Well, I'm a man of few words, too.
Don't even do much hummin'.
You see me shake my head for no,
You'll savy I ain't comin'."

 Mike Logan ©1993
 

  
The

       Mike has been a featured poet at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada; at the Montana Cowboy Gathering in Big Timber; and at the first gathering to be held in Canada, the Alberta Cowboy Poetry Gathering, in Pincher Creek, Alberta.  You can obtain further information on Mike's books and the purchase of them on his web site:
                      http://www.mikelogancowboypoet.com.

         Or you can contact his publisher:                                     
                                    BUGLIN' BULL PRESS
                                           32 S. Howie
                                         Helena , MT 59601

                                Your comments are welcome:
                                         loganmont@msn.com
 


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