I Swing a Wide Reata

I wrote this in 2008 for an “Art and Heritage of Livestock” class my senior year at A&M. I’m a big fan of cowboy poetry and villanelles, and this is my attempt to combine the two. I swing a wide reata,Ropin’ steers from my bay;Down South on the Norias. “Ándale, you cows—arriba!”As we drive the…