Best Little Joe Poems
~Michael Landon~
(Acrostic)
M-ichal was a very famous American actor,director,producer and writer.He was born
I-n Forest Hill, New York.During his early childhood and years he
C-onquered great challenges in many ways while
H-e grew up in Collingswood, N.J. but he made it throughout all of them,
A-nd developed a sense of humor,as a shield,against a world he thought often cruel
E-ugene Maurice Orowitz, was his real given name, but much
L-ater on, in his life he would change it to Michael Landon
L-ittle House In the Prarie,brought him more to fame all over,even when
A-nd years before he's starred as little Joe, in the popular t.v.serie "Bonanza."
N-eedless to say he was a great actor, and kind human being.He was very much
D-evoted to his family and every role that he worked and much created
O-n all his long years as one of the biggest and most celebrated tv stars ever
N-one of us will forget his engaging smile and heart warming role in L.H.I. the Prarie.
Dorian Petersen Potter
aka ladydp2000
Copyright@2015
July.17.2015
Years active: 1956-1991
(October 31,1991-July 1, 1991)
Lived: Oct 31, 1936 - Jul 01, 1991 (age 54)
Author Notes:
As long as I can remember growing up as a child, I watched him
in Bonanza,as the sweet and kind-hearted Little Joe.And then
later on I just loved him and followed him more in his
role as the most wonderful father, ever in his unforgettable role
of Papa Charles, in the Little House in the Prarie."
I just loved and admired Michael Landon all my life,and respected
him no matter what.He had so many wonderful qualities to dim all of
his flaws and faults in my eyes.In my heart is just one
of a Kind,forever,and will remain so the rest of my days.
R.I.P. Michael! You're very much missed.
Categories:
little joe, celebrity, film, tribute,
Form:
Acrostic
Give me a "Home On The Range"
Where my granpa once roamed
Out on the lone prairie
From "Deep In The Heart Of Texas"
He cummed up the trail
Following the "Cowboys Dream"
All the way to "The Chisholm Trail"
There "At The Cowboys Dance"
He met "Sweet Betsy From Pike"
And danced with "The Buffalo Gals"
Early next morn he hit the saddle once more
Headed for "Cripple Creek"
"The Yellow Rose Of Texas"
And "San Antonio Rose"
He met on the "Streets Of Loredo"
In "Red River Valley"
He met that "Red River Gal"
Headed for the "Lone Star Trail"
This "Texas Cowboy"
Hit a new trail "Way Out In Idaho"
But when "Windy Bill" gave him a taste of
"Life In A Prairie Shack"
He jumped on "Old Paint" and did leave.
He headed north to "Dakota Land"
Where his last years he did spend
Proudly he'd boast "I'm An Old Cowhand"
And sits and tells them his tales.
Of the "Grand Roundup" as he rode "Wild Buckaroo"
When "Down In The Valley" he ranched.
But tears filled his gray eyes
As he told of "Little Joe The Wrangler"
On the "Trail Of The Lonesome Pine"
When "The Work's All Done This Fall"
"Git Along Little Doggies" he'll say
It's about time for the "Last Round-Up"
Which is the "Dying Cowboy's" dream.
Cile Beer
Categories:
little joe, cowboy-western, history, imagination, river,
Form:
Free verse
The story of little joe did not start out great
When we came and got him it was late
He looked like a fat little pig
He was a good little dog and did not dig
We took him home to meet the dogs
When he saw the family, he did a jog
He wanted to jump on us to be stable
That’s when sandy pushed him into a table
She barked and growled at little joe
Joe was scared and put his head low
Now they are friends after the fight
And they both sleep calmly in my bed every night
Then there is mean little cujo
She is angry at little joe
Cujo is very old and moldy
That’s why she looks like a bowl of guacamole
Joe is a sweet little dog
But not cujo not at all
One day they will be friends
And make amends
Categories:
little joe, adventure, dog, funny,
Form:
Ballad
There was a day on TV
Where westerns were all the rage
You could take your pick
From your TV paper page
Together our masked hero the Lone Ranger
With Tonto kept outlaws in a spin
Have Gun Will Travel was the card
For black dressed professional gunfighter Paladin
Wagon Train kept rolling along
Seth Adams the leader
Flint McCullough chief scout
Old Charlie Wooster was the feeder
Rawhide kept the cattle moving
Gil and Randy kept control
In Dodge City it was Gunsmoke
Marshall Matt Dillon was key role
On the ponderosa it was Bonanza
Where Ben Cartwright was the boss
With his family of three boys
Adam, little Joe and Hoss
Wells Fargo was the stagecoach
Where Jim Hardie was the star
Now these are only some
For they were many more by far
They were the Virginian and the Rifleman
Laramie, Maverick and Cheyenne
The High Chaparral not to mention alias Smith and Jones
These made us all a fan
Cowboys where are you?
Memories of you is our lot
On TV we can’t see
Is this our last shot?
poetgord@2013
Categories:
little joe, america, native american, stars,
Form:
Rhyme
One night I dreamed I wandered, weary in a desert
until a clear blue water lake emerged ahead
midst the new pine landscape of my dream.
Four specks far away, approaching. . .
soon turned into four strong ranchers wearing big brim cowboy hats.
My memory was stirred in tune with an upbeat melody.
And suddenly I knew just who they were!
One, dressed all in black, sat tall and handsome in his saddle.
Another, plain and burly, gave a toothy grin.
Another, young and charming, smiled and winked at me!
The silver-haired gent, their father,
met my gaze with warm and honest eyes.
Seeing my exhaustion, he offered me a place to stay.
Oh, happy dream that I had drifted into:
that bygone era of my youth
when Adam, Hoss and Little Joe,
along with the grand patriarch Ben Cartwright,
had been invited into living rooms on Sunday nights
as families like mine watched their televisions all those years ago.
A bonanza of romance, friendship, loyalty and courage
had given us the good-hearted milder side of the wild wild west.
Alongside the Cartwright clan,
I rode inside my dream toward the cozy ranch house
built on the land of legend called the Ponderosa,
anticipating Hop Sing’s home-cooked supper.
Inspired by the Wild Wild West Poetry Contest
* hear the lyrics of the Bonanza theme song as sung by Lorne Greene (Ben Cartwright)
at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA-PdP4k4Xw
Categories:
little joe, family, dream, dream,
Form:
Free verse
The shows I watched when young were black and white.
About five channels came on day and night.
The Beaver, Opie, Jeanie, Flying Nun
were characters I liked both good and fun.
Shows of humor sometimes missed their function;
one like that for sure was “Petticoat Junction.”
But “Laugh-In,” “Lucy,” and “Bewitched” were cool;
“Three Stooges” I rushed home for after school.
“Lassie” for the kiddies, “Rifleman” for dad,
“The Man From U.N.C.L.E” for us all, a 60’s fad.
By standards of today, those shows were tame.
The raciest perhaps was “The Dating Game!”
One genius fat guy, Hitchcock, gave a thrill
with horror tales. I like those re-runs still!
But there’s one 60s TV show that I
recall the best; I’ll finish telling why!
“Bonanza,” broadcast Sundays, was the one
for romance, drama, and great family fun,
for on the Ponderosa lived wise Ben
and his three sons, well-off but simple men.
The chubby one named Hoss was kind of sweet.
The oldest, Adam, I found really neat!
Little Joe, whom we girls would like to marry,
later moved to “Little House on the Prairie!”
It may not have been best of old TV,
but it was sure a cherished show for me
because it came each Sunday night at eight,
a special time so great I could not wait!
My mom and dad and we eight kids would sit
together happily enjoying it.
Before the show began my mom would pop
a huge pan full of popcorn, butter on top.
Each time commercials came, we’d dip a bowl
of ours into that pan; I’d get so full
for I’d eat eight or ten small bowls of it.
Once I begin with popcorn, I can’t quit!
This was the family custom I lived for
since television and food I both adore.
It was the night we all together sat
enthralled, and there’s not much that can beat that!
Written by Andrea Dietrich
(I have too many today to name TV favorites but I really
think "Bonanza" has to be my favorite from my childhood!)
For Michael J. Falotico's "Ryhme Me An Old TV SHow.... Poetry Contest"
Categories:
little joe, family, nostalgiamom, family, night,
Form:
Rhyme
What’s his name? What’s his name?
I don’t know, I don’t know
Let me go, let me go
What’s his name?
Who Jim Crow, Joe Blow or John Doe,
Why do you ask me so, I don’t know?
Why do you hold me in this beau?
Even so, why you ask me something I don’t know?
Whoa holy Joe, I don’t know, no James Monroe.
Furthermo, I didn’t know he was in a picture show
With Little Joe and Little Big Toe!
Even so I didn’t know he was a tennis pro
Now on skid row and his wife working a strip show
I didn’t know!
So you gonna let me go?
Whoa, why you hit me in the stomach below
And caused my knees to hit the floor
Watch it bro, don’t hit me no mo
If you hit me again below, here’s how its gonna go
Like quid pro quo I’m lay low and sneak up on you like a
UFO stopping your show with a glide of an unexpected blow
Across the thing that help you go!
Then I’ll take an arrow and shoot you in every toe,
Just like a woman during her menstrual flow
You’re not gonna know what hit you bro
It will be like a hammer blow from your
Head to your toe
And this is what will happen if you don’t let me go!
Hello
Categories:
little joe, confusion, funny, imagination, me,
Form:
Free verse
~~~Cowboys~~~
When I was a kid I wanted to live
On the Ponderosa, a cowgirl I'd be.
The daughter-in-law of Ben Cartwright
And Little Joe would marry me.
Cowboys stoked my imagination,
Made me dream of times gone by.
They were men who were strong and brave
And many a cowboy caught my eye.
Westerns I watch, I'm an avid fan.
The cowboys always make me smile.
I daydream along and wish myself there
If only for a little while.
So if you want to catch my eye
Just wear a stetson and a pair of tight jeans.
Then you're halfway to winning my heart
For my interest towards cowboys leans.
Categories:
little joe, cowboy-westernme,
Form:
Rhyme
Our sixth grade classmate Sarah Lovely Sweetheart was a formidable foe,
Outside beauty was her forte, but her heart was a giant big fat woe.
Many of the twelve-year old boys were smitten, because she was pretty and a glow.
Her eyes shined the most fantastic blue with a curious silver, made just so.
We girls had figured out her angle, because we were not so very slow.
Did I say she could lie better than our former resident liar, Little Joe?
Smoothly, effortlessly, she could pour them out like sweet molasses, really slow.
It did not help the boys that she was stacked up like a perky Marilyn Monroe.
They blindly followed her like short puppies, gaping and fawning, to and fro.
Really funny to see, as she was taller than them by half a foot or so.
Sarah Lovely Sweetheart lied, stole, fought and bit, but her male fans would never know.
Because she only revealed her true self to us girls, that big fat hairy ho.
Written: July 29, 1018
Contest Entered: A Rattling Rhyme Contest Sponsor: Nina Parameter
Categories:
little joe, silly,
Form:
Rhyme
Porous border
100 thousand Americans dead
Fentanyl poisoned.
Courtesy of China, the cartels and little Joe Biden.
Sex trafficking and dirty coyotes.
Biological weapons
wet market alibi
gain of function.
Decriminalize drugs.
Close down insane asylums.
No bail for violent fellows.
Sweep God under the rug.
Leaning toward Energy dependency.
To beg oil from our sworn enemies.
War for profit.
The red panda is chewing up our farmland.
War for prophet.
Can't wait to see what's next?
Categories:
little joe, drug, hate,
Form:
Free verse
Late sixties cowboy films Bonanza, Rawhide
And Cheyenne – I loved these series.
Their theme songs come to mind ‘Wishing
‘My gal was by my side’( Rawhide,)
Waiting at the end of my ride
‘Keep movin,’ movin’, movin,
Just rope em, throw and brand em
Soon we’ll be living high and wide
Rawhide’.
And then there was Cheyenne ,
‘Cheyenne, Cheyenne, where will
You be campin’ tonight,
Lonely man, Cheyenne, will
Your heart stay free and light,
The wind that blows, that comes and goes,
Has been your only home,
But will the wind one day cease,
And you’ll no longer roam.’
And finally my absolute favorite
Bonanza (Little Joe) we were all in love
With him, it was all we discussed at
School break time the next day
If only it was on every night
What can I say,
The song was almost on
The hit parade.
In my mind, it will never fade!
Remember their home the Ponderosa
Ranch, ‘the stars at night
The morning light
Water in the branch,
We ride along,
Four men strong ‘
These three cowboy series bring back
Memories galore of my mid to late teenage
Years, happy moments, and sad seems
Like only a page
Ago.
I have just missed Line Gauthier’s contest,
But still posting this poem. Some words and lyrics
From all three series.
Categories:
little joe, home,
Form:
Free verse
This talented actor died in 1991.
We knew him as Little Joe and as Michael Landon.
People cherish the characters he portrayed.
He starred in three shows in a span of three decades.
In fifty-four years he did a great deal.
He starred in Highway to Heaven and now he's in Heaven for real.
His illness caused him to go down fast.
We will always remember the work he did in the past.
In the last week of June his skin was gray.
Sadly one week later he passed away.
When we learned about his illness, many fans were bound to find it scary.
We lost the man from Little house on the prairie.
Everyone knows it wasn't fair for him to die.
He succumbed to cancer on the first day of July.
He was Joe, Charles and Jonathon.
It was sad to say good-bye to Landon.
(DEDICATED TO MICHAEL LANDON WHO DIED JULY 1, 1991. TWENTY YEARS AGO
TODAY.)
Categories:
little joe, death, dedicationheaven, heaven, cancer,
Form:
Rhyme
which is better
successful cowboys
the Barkleys or Cartwrights?
Categories:
little joe, nostalgia,
Form:
Questionku
We called ourselves the Heptcats
known on the ice as rink rats
Thomas, Don, Stephen, and me
and the Gardner bothers three,
Clark, Andrew, and Little Joe
to the arena, we’d all go
and shinny till supper’s call.
By high school, shinny was lame
us Heptcats sought music fame
Tom on guitar, Don on drum
Steve fiddle, Joe bass did strum
Andy cornet, Clark trombone
me on the accordion
Kings of the Plains Polka scene.
While some say seven brings luck
fame’s fortune never us struck
after school we moved away
Tom and Don in new bands play
Steve, Joe and Clark went to city
More school for Andy and me
Heptcats now forever gone.
Categories:
little joe, hockey, music, time,
Form:
Rhyme
Actor and filmmaker, Michael Landon -
his shows were addictions folks couldn’t abandon!
As a javelin thrower, he could have gone far.
Once injured, he changed paths and became a TV star.
On “Bonanza” he played Little Joe.
It was such a great family show.
Among brothers three,
the cutest was he.
They were ranchers (if you didn’t know).
All his life, he had struggles, but Michael persevered.
Twenty-two times on TV guide’s cover, he appeared.
On “Little House on the Prairie,” he was a loving dad
just like in real life! His death from cancer made me feel sad.
Categories:
little joe, celebrity,
Form:
Clerihew