Best Payin Poems
When hard times come they sit a spell,
Like kin folk come to stay
A-packin' troubles, pets an' kids
That always get ‘n your way.
It's drought an' flood, an' flood an' drought,
There ain't much in-between.
You work like hell to make ’em good,
But still they’re sorta lean.
The ranch went under late last year,
The drought got mighty tough.
The boss held-out a long, long time,
But finally said, "enough!"
So here I am dispatchin’ cops
An’ watchin’ felons sleep,
In Junction, at the county jail,
A job I’ll prob’ly keep.
The wife, she works at Leisure Lodge,
Where older people stay,
A-makin’ beds an’ moppin’ floors
To earn some ‘extra’ pay.
Though “extra pay‘s” the term I used,
It goes to payin’ rent,
An’ after all the bills are paid,
We wonder where it went.
We hocked my saddle, guns an' chaps,
An' then our weddin' rings;
Then when we couldn't pay the loan,
They sold the 'dad-blamed' things.
We felt real bad a day or two
But then we let it go,
Cause it got Christmas for the kids
When money got real slow.
When hard times come they sit a spell,
Don't matter who you are;
They'll cost ya things you've set aside,
An' clean your cookie jar.
You'll loose some sleep an' worry some,
Won't pay to moan an' groan;
But hang on to your happiness,
They'll finally leave ya 'lone.
Categories:
payin, cowboy-western, family, funny, life,
Form:
Cowboy Poetry
The train pulled out of the
Clouds singing
Harmonies
I asked the conductor for
Some change
He said "son don't you know?
Nobody's payin'"
I said "sure but the stoplight is
Ahead"
Thunder and lightnin'
Lit the outline of faces I had
Known
Not one
Knew the tune
Playin' in my head
I'm sure I saw the face
of
Mother Theresa
A smile I thought
Just around the
Bend
About then the ride came
To a tumblin'
End
Next thing I knew choirs were
Singin'
And butterflies up in
My head
The fields they went on
Forever
And sunshine from who
Knows where
My soul what was left just
Started dancin'
And prayers once just words
Were
......... shooting stars
"You see"
I said "no one is listenin"
That's when I knew
The time had come
For
Me
To
Fly
© All Rights Reserved
Categories:
payin, absence,
Form:
Free verse
I see you straight tripping
When you see my cell phone still flipping
Yeah, you think you're the shizzle
Drop it in water it still gonna fizzle
How's this for a paycheck paper weight
Its still gotta a two hour battery life you hate
Can ya playlist still find that song, I shuffled
All I hear is your nursery rhyme muffled
Yeah, you're all hot, one tricked out pony
Bet ya still payin for it, how's that rice-a-roni?
Take ya high maintenance attitude down the street
While I'm still singing to my own beat
Take ya little bench warming money trap
School's over, hope you got the app
Categories:
payin, slam, technology,
Form:
Rhyme
Watch those buckaroos lose their insides when saddled to a wild one untied it’s fer a sight when they ride . Yiddy –up was the wail when a bull of a devil left his trail some kinda fight on the road to hell.
No wonder I headed for Whiskey Row with some forty drinks down below sure is thunder in your hole will rock your soul as you face the mighty cold.
Strums my guitar and softly singing as the cowboys are around the camp fire ringing as the fire is blazinin another day is hazing. Got the notion for prayin as another cowboy was payin and he was sayin
Lord ya know the deeds I’ve done and in the shadows I have hung I just wanted to be thankful for meeting me on this fateful day and in thy range I will forever stay.
Vanita Allgood
Categories:
payin, adventure, cowboy-western, death, inspirational,
Form:
Rhyme
The Perfect Circle Plant was where most kids went to work as a general rule,
To begin a life of donkeywork upon graduation from the local school.
I dreamed of things far beyond the horizon like visitin' Rome or Istanbul,
Not a life of drudgery in the plant or plowin' corn behind a ploddin' mule!
I suppose I could've gone to work there, married and had a flock of kids,
But such a mundane life would've driven me to booze, landin' me on the skids!
They made expansion rings and such for airplanes, ships and tanks.
Not for me! I chose the Air Force! For that I've always given thanks!
While I enjoyed the beauty of Bermuda (where I 'fought' the Korean War),
My peers were waitin' for quittin' time, performin' their borin' chore!
I reckon they made about five bucks an hour turnin' out expansion rings.
I only made a hundred bucks a month, but it paid for my youthful flings!
I just couldn't see myself turnin' nuts and bolts and payin' union dues,
Or catchin' hell from the ol' lady for stoppin' by the pub for some brews!
While I was dinin' on steak and sippin' Tom Collins' at the Plantation House,
My pals back home were eatin' meatloaf and listenin' to their spouse's grouse!
I hasten to say that the Perfect Circle Plant provided my friends with needed work,
But operatin' a planer or lathe eight hours a day would've driven me berserk!
Should I have taken Dad's advice and hired on at the plant had I to do it over?
Nah! I wanted to get off the farm and leave the county 'cause I'm an avid rover!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Categories:
payin, funny, work, life, me,
Form:
Rhyme
Well they done took away ma pension
whilst I waren’t payin no tention.
Never thought thet thar could happen,
Seems ma face they keep a slappin'.
Ah trusted all them folk thet said ah could,
ah took their word like they sed ah should,
but now ah see they jest a bunch a thieves,
Take all ya got and knock ya to yer knees.
Use ta was be you could tell a liar,
plain’s ya could the town crier,
Now they got sneakier ways,
from lots a practice these days.
Them banks and the government’s in cahoots.
Reckon they standin’ in each others boots.
Whisht ah’d a knowed they wuz gonna play those games
Ah’d a set much lower aims.. maybe like …Jesse James.
Done asked a lawyer onced bout business and ethics.
He laughed and said “Bob, business and ethics don’t mix!”
Never heered anybody say that right out loud…
Still laughin’ at me,.. he walked away proud.
Yep, maybe I’d a set much lower aims…
Reckon I’d a understood… Jesse James.
Categories:
payin, business, cowboy-western, business,
Form:
Couplet
Sergeant Major O'Malley, Seventh Cavalry, had served nigh on three decades.
He rose through the ranks havin' served in squads, companies and brigades.
Second lieutenants were nuisances and he treated them as if they didn't exist!
He took recalcitrant lads behind the barracks to administer discipline with his fist!
You'd better have your horse and tack lookin' keen for Saturday mornin' parades,
Or Sergeant Major O'Malley would sear the ozone with his thunderin' tirades!
He'd escort you to the stables to shovel manure if you ever mistreated a horse!
Sergeant Major O'Malley's colorful lingo left one with a feelin' of remorse!
He had absolutely no patience with the foibles of raw and bumblin' recruits.
Lord have mercy on the hapless lad who failed to shine his saber and his boots!
Should a trooper snooze in the saddle when escortin' the colonel's stage,
Sergeant Major O'Malley would stomp and rave unleashin' a towerin' rage!
At the break of dawn when reveille sounded, he'd burst through the barracks door,
Yellin' "Up and at 'em me lads! Outta them bunks! What am I a-payin' ye for!
Ye sorry excuses fer sojers! Hie to the stables! Them hosses needs oats and hay!
And when that's done, git back here to eat yer grub and scrub this filthy bay!"
Things were different when he dismounted his horse and entered his house!
The one who gave orders and 'wore the stripes' at home was his formidable spouse!
He meekly responded to her constant commands with a resigned, "Yes, my dear."
"Taps" was a welcome sound at close of day in Sergeant Major O'Malley's ear!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Categories:
payin, funnyhorse,
Form:
Rhyme
Mona Lisa has worn that mystical smile on her mug for over 500 years!
Who is this mysterious lady who at us from The Louvre benignly peers?
She had to sit for over four years for the artist to capture that simple pose.
Who she is and what's behind that smile, only Leonardo DaVinci knows!
She ain't the most beautiful woman to come down the pike but what the heck.
Since her genesis in 1503 she wasn't treated all that well during her dicey trek!
She's been mutilated, stolen a time or two and graced Napoleon's sleeping place.
All the while she's borne it with grace with that inane smile upon her face!
Some have said that she's the widowed Duchess of Milan, Isabella of Aragon.
Others have sworn that she's Mona Lisa Gherardini and so it goes on and on!
Signore DaVinci left no specific clues as to the name of this mysterious dame!
Through the centuries men have scratched their skulls trying to seek her name!
Was that frozen smile upon her face to hide teeth that were crooked and stained?
Or was her pose such that her posterior and sacroiliac were slightly strained?
Perhaps her compressed smile implied to Leonardo, "Hurry up and git 'er done!
You're payin' minimum wage and fella, posin' fer posterity ain't all that fun!"
Now hung upon the wall of The Louvre she's worth millions and millions of bucks.
Not bad for an unknown woman from who knows where, but here's the crux:
That beatific smile upon the homely face of Mona Lisa that Leonardo created,
And what she's smiling for will always be debated and pondered unabated!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Tied for 3d Place in Carolyn Devonshire's "Unsolved Mysteries" Contest - Jul 2011
Categories:
payin, art, funny, mysterywoman, smile,
Form:
Rhyme
Ain’t Nuthin To Do in Lubbock
By David J Walker
The Killer came to town
Jerry lee Lewis and his pal
Jim Ed Brown
Playin at the municipal coliseum
To a sell out crowd
Payin up to 5 bucks
Just to see ‘em playin loud
But… that Ain’t Nuthin
Cause Asleep At The Wheel an
Jerry Jeff Walker an The Mains Brothers,
Waylon n Willie and a lot of others
Includin Alvin Crow were still knocking em dead at
Back to back weekend shows
At the Cotton Club
While all the musicians in town
went to see Stevie Ray V
wailing on his fender
At Stubbs where Lou kept the BBQ ribs
And the cold beer comin
Joe Ely was there being cool
playin pool
tradin licks Jesse guitar Taylor
And Some fool still says….
Ain’t nuthin to do in Lubbock
Categories:
payin, music,
Form:
Rhyme
Morning Bell
To my best friend,
whom I know so well,
and is do dear to me,
no word can tell.
But this I write,
trying to find a way,
to say these feelin's
in my cowboy way.
you say I been there for you
like a good ol' hoss.
Goin' through hell and high water
payin' no mind to the cost.
To you I was once lost
like a lonely ol' stray.
But like a good ol' dog
I've come back to stay.
When you are down
and the world turned you blue.
I feel it on my heart,
as a friend is s'posed to do.
I have cried with you,
even though tears rarely fall.
For it’s my job to stand proud
and be there strong, brave and tall.
When you laugh and smile
your eyes dance like sun on the sea.
I know in my heart,
there is no other place I wanna be.
When trouble surrounds you,
and you can't get away.
Just like cowboys of old
I ride up and save the day.
But when n the worlds on my shoulders
and I'm all busted up.
You reach over and touch my heart
and my spirit picks up.
Without you sayin' I can see
that you have been through a tough ride or two,
I know what it's like.
'Cause I have been on some rank ones too.
For you have a quality,
so fine, so rare
and its loveliness,
nothing can compare.
As we walk through life,
and as we get older.
We walk together victorious
as a battle weary solder.
You say I am someone,
you could never replace.
But, with out you another dawn,
I could not face.
What you mean to me,
no word could ever tell.
But your friendship to me,
is like a crisp morning bell.
I could write for a hundred years,
and never reach the end.
Tryin' to describe you.
for you are truly my best friend.
Categories:
payin, cowboy-western, friendship
Form:
Cowboy Poetry
Now Burly Turly weren’t much tall,
In fact, I’d say the man was short—
But he was plum stout to a fault
And fer as nice, he was low a quart.
No matter how big the man was,
They knew ya didn’t cross ol’ Burr,
Them what did soon changed their tune
Or they found themselves now a “her.”
Then one dark day out in the barn,
Me and Burr admired the new stud—
When that big hoss stepped on Burr’s foot
And I knew Burr was out fer blood!
But much to my amazement then,
Ol’ Burr seemed calmed and jest surprised—
But ‘fore I moved he raised a sledge
And whacked that hoss right twixt the eyes!
“Now why’d ya go and kill yer horse?”
I asked with misapprehension—
“He jest paid me no mind,” Burr said,
“So I had ta git his ‘tension!”
Categories:
payin, cowboy-western, depression, funny
Form:
Cowboy Poetry
Altos and sopranos
Blend - songs
Are heard in the distance . .. . . . .. . .
bass and tenors sings songs of joy
Noises...(pleasant noises to be precise)
Musical noises increase in volume
Some people talk and sing at the same time
Some are having the time of their lives
Then...something breaks the innocence of a professional choir -
Bad language! I bet you didn't expect that, did you!?
People speak freely now
It's as if the teacher is saying, "Go ahead, class, and cuss all you want now!"
Very loud - the commotion is banging at my ear drums
My ears are sensitive to the noise
Yearning to hear songs instead of chit-chatters
I wanna hear music, not the latest gossips!
Songs and noises get my full attention in a good and bad way . . .
Just sayin'. Now, I'm hear payin' the price.
I'm obeyin'. Now, can I roll the dice?
Categories:
payin, angst, confusion, hope, nonsense,
Form:
Free verse
A new chance has blossomed
Til the police pull up
She ain't feelin' too awesome
And her mind is made up
Chance to confess
To drop to her knees
But she's under all this stress
And she runs with the breeze
With a click and a blast
She screams her last breath
Chance for redemption at last
But she still chose death
Not a single angel sings
As she walks up to the gate
She wonders if she'll get wings
Or if damnation is her fate
Sex, Drugs, and Crime have one goal
And messing with that could cost you your soul
All the mourners stand back
As she's buried with a rose
Where the sky is black
And the cold wind blows...
So if life hands you trouble
You have to think twice
Or you could die bleeding in the rubbel
Payin' your high price
You could have a knife pulled on you
Or a bullet in the head
But we all know one thing is true
You could end up dead
You better remember this girl
All the s*** she went through
Don't let your life unfurl
Or your soul could be due
Life comes with pain
And life comes with tears
But don't hop on that train
To run away from your fears
Remember this crazy train
Is on a rickety track
And once you enter the wrong lane
There ain't no turnin' back
I know this 'cause I've walked on the path
I held this girls hand in the dreams I once had
Now I stand back looking at the aftermath
I'm lucky I lived, but it's hard to say I didn't like doin' the bad
Sex, Drugs, and Crime have one goal
And messing with that could cost you your soul
One of these days you might need to think back
To this little girl's last night of woe
Where the sky is black
And the cold wind blows...
Categories:
payin, angst, confusion, death, depression,
Form:
Quatrain
6/3/17
Continual verbatim
And ultimatums
Better know what they're payin'
During times of economic downfall and inflation
I got no time for playin'
And don't care what others are sayin'
Skills like Raiden
Time I turn super saiyan
Mixed with Jason
Any anything made by Wes Craven
Near and far from any raven
Across every basin
And all the nations
During any occasions
Got to make more bacon
In the form of Benjamin Franklins
Events occuring for short or long-term durations
Regarding similar and different situations
I've been way down below the foundation
In the basement
Below layers of pavement
Still found inspiration
As the universe remained in rotation
Since the dawn of creation
Among objects nowhere near or adjacent
To lots that were or were not vacant
With the talent of a mason
And knowledge of a shaman
In any location
Categories:
payin, dedication, fun, how i
Form:
Rhyme
You know that you’re old as dirt
When your whole body does hurt—
You grab a cane ‘stead of quirt
And you’re just too old to flirt.
It’s when you have to trim hairs
From your nose and your big ears—
You’re sure that those creepin’ years
Has justified all your fears!
It ain’t that you’re gittin’ old
Or Father Time is too bold
Or the last crow has done crowed—
It’s sittin’ ‘round till ya mold!
But if time comes a knockin’,
Don’t let it be too shockin’—
Don’t take your tack for hockin’,
You’re jest rollin’, not rockin’!
So when you’re payin’ for sins
And seems your life never ends—
You’ll know just who’s your true friends
When they has to change your Depends!
Categories:
payin, cowboy-western, funny, life, people,
Form:
Cowboy Poetry