Nostalgia and Loss

Where it surfaces

• Dedication

  The author fondly recalls friends from college days, including those of 'precious and joyous memory,' indicating a sense of loss and longing.

• Epigraph

  The epigraph mourns the end of the frontier and the cowboy's role, but finds solace in the enduring songs of that era.

• Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp

  The poems often look back fondly on the cowboy way of life, with a sense of loss for a disappearing era, as seen in the tragic story of Lasca and the reflective tone of the narrator.

• Part I: Cowboy Yarns

  Old Shorty's lament for the 'good ol' days' of open range and the poem 'The Cattle Round-Up' longing for the past both express a deep sense of loss for a vanishing way of life.

• Riders of the Stars

  The cowboys yearn for the days of their earthly range work, finding Heaven's idleness unsatisfying and longing for the familiar toil of the open range.

• Lasca

  The narrator's deep longing for the past and his grief over Lasca's death permeate the poem, as he wonders why he no longer cares for the present.

• To Hear Him Tell It

  The old cowman repeatedly contrasts the 'good ol' early days' with the present, lamenting the loss of the open range and the old ways.

• Jack Dempsey's Grave

  A sense of loss pervades as the poet mourns the forgotten champion and the fading of his once-thundering acclaim.

• The Cattle Round-Up

  The poem dwells on longing for the past, when the prairie was vast and life was simpler, and seeks to revive those days through the ball.

• A Border Affair

  The narrator's wistful recollection of his lost love and the life he left behind.

• Snagtooth Sal

  The poem is a poignant reflection on happier times and the enduring pain of Sal's death.

• Who's That Calling So Sweet?

  The speaker's longing for distant loved ones is the central emotion, as the calling is revealed to be the voices of those far away.

• The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball

  The narrator fondly recalls the event, contrasting it with more refined dances, expressing a longing for the raw, spirited frontier gatherings.

• The Road to Ruin

  The narrator mourns the passage of twenty years and the ruin of old friends, emphasizing the theme of loss and longing for the past.

• The Old Mackenzie Trail

  The poem mourns the passing of the frontier era, with 'dim reminders of the olden times' and 'nameless graves' marking the trail.

• A Cowboy at the Carnival

  The narrator expresses a deep longing for his former life on the ranch, feeling lost and out of place in the city.

• The Old Cowman

  The entire poem is a lament for the lost open range, with the narrator mourning the fences and settlement that have replaced the freedom of his youth.

• The Call of the Plains

  The narrator yearns for past days on the prairies, expressing a bittersweet longing for what is gone.

• A Cowboy Toast

  The poem mourns the passing of the cowboy way of life, celebrating his legacy while acknowledging its end.

• The Disappointed Tenderfoot

  The tenderfoot's disappointment mirrors a broader cultural longing for a vanished frontier, as the old settler laments that the West has gone East.

• A Cowboy Alone with His Conscience

  The narrator's memory drifts back to 'childhood’s happy days' and his deceased mother, evoking a sense of loss and longing for a simpler, more innocent time.