By Walt Barnhart, Contributing Editor
In high school I memorized a popular poem with the intention of using it to impress a girl I liked. It was my thought at the time that delivering the poem would convince her I was a sophisticated, charming fellow rather than the awkward geek that was my actual self.
This was more than a half century ago and I didn’t recite the poem to the girl. But to this day I remember “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, word-for-word, and its powerful imagery still evokes pleasant memories.
Poetry can do that. In fact, for centuries talented poets have had a way of presenting feelings and attitudes in a captivating and memorable way. The rhymes are clever, the cadence is mesmerizing and the words often spark the imagination.
The world lost an extremely talented poet two years ago. While some considered him a “cowboy poet,” Baxter Black was much more than that. He was an entertainer and a true asset to the agricultural community. But the fact is, from wherever you were in society, his poetry could make you smile … laugh … nod your head … think. He entertained wherever he appeared, whether it was on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, NPR’s Morning Edition, the pages of agricultural publications, his CDs and books or the stages of the many county, state or national conventions at which he was the star attraction. Baxter drew fans wherever he went and did so in whatever fashion he chose to attract them.
Baxter Black’s poetry, however, was in a class by itself. Consider this stanza from his poem “The West”:
It’s wild and it’s wide and it’s lonesome
Where the dream of first blood still survives
And it beckons to those who can bid adios
To the comfort of 8 to 5 lives
Simple, yet elegant and moving. I don’t consider myself the poet Baxter Black was, but who can say they are? The following is not meant to replicate his talent, but to honor it.
The Legend of Baxter Black
This man that we knew was a legend who grew
Much more popular down through the years
Started out as a vet and a good one, I’ll bet
But then shifted into higher gears.
Storytelling, it seems, was a part of his dreams
A rare talent he took to great heights
And rhymes you could say were a natural way
To assure that his name hit the lights.
The Tonight Show had clips featuring Baxter quips
Johnny Carson saw him as the best
Audiences agreed and all had to concede
Baxter certainly made quite a guest.
Then public radio would let everyone know
He was witty and charming and cool
A true cowboy to some he would later become
The well-rounded celebrity jewel.
In person as warm as a wrap in a storm
Baxter lit up a stage like a flair
He had talent galore, used his guitar and more
Was endowed with proficiency rare.
But the man was distinct for his gift to be linked
To each person who shared a quick smile;
Your immediate friend, it would never end
Baxter lived his life with pure grace and style.
Ahead of the pack and as sharp as a tack
We remember the mustache, the man
A treasure, a poet, the late Baxter Black
I’ll always remain a huge fan.
