Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 9: "Railcar"
Communicating secret glyphs
To all my fellow bindlestiffs,
I often share a common camp
Or railcar with the traveling tramp,
But unlike him, I do not shirk
The opportunity for work.
I walk the road, stick out my thumb…
I’m homeless, but I’m not a bum.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #greatdepression #railroad #trains #hitchhiking #migrant #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #greatdepression #railroad #trains #hitchhiking #migrant #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 8: "Dude Ranch"
Pardner, forget that city slick
Whose smoggy air has made you sick,
And sit beside our old campfire.
That paperwork won’t stack much higher
Without a paper avalanche,
So come on out to the dude ranch.
Were simple folk and unrefined,
But friendly hosts, I think you’ll find.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #country #duderanch #ranch #horses #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #country #duderanch #ranch #horses #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 7: "Silver Mine"
They say that one last vein is hid,
So here I live, well off the grid,
In California ghost-town heaven,
That’s been my home since Ninety-seven.
This old, abandoned silver mine,
Shut down in Nineteen Fifty-nine,
Often yields up a chunk of ore,
But I am holding out for more.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #silver #ghosttown #mining #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #silver #ghosttown #mining #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 6: "Tumbleweed"
Though picturesque upon the sand,
I’m noxiously invasive, and
My presence here is not benign.
Now I’m the unmistaken sign
Of desert soil and desolation.
You pushed the edge of civilization,
And on the way, you dropped my seeds…
I tumble in the wind and weeds.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #nature #environment #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #nature #environment #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social
#OldWestPrompt 5: "Bank Robber" 😂
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #bankrobber #covid #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #bankrobber #covid #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
239 followers · 401 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt "Horse"
Between two seas, on open plains,
You bridled me, attached the reins,
Domesticated, tamed this beast,
In grass-steppe regions of the east.
But now, on prairies wide and free,
Where oceans have replaced each sea,
A new world has become my home,
For I’m soon rooted where I roam.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #animals #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #animals #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt "Horse"
Between two seas, on open plains,
You bridled me, attached the reins,
Domesticated, tamed this beast,
In grass-steppe regions of the east.
But now, on prairies wide and free,
Where oceans have replaced each sea,
A new world has become my home,
For I’m soon rooted where I roam.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #animals #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #animals #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
237 followers · 398 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 3: "Saloon"
With false front, unfinished floors,
A set of swinging double-doors,
A gambling table, whiskey bar,
One patron boasts a bold tin star,
One casts a cold and callous eye,
One false move, and one will die…
A momentary silence, then
The ragtime tune starts up again.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 3: "Saloon"
With false front, unfinished floors,
A set of swinging double-doors,
A gambling table, whiskey bar,
One patron boasts a bold tin star,
One casts a cold and callous eye,
One false move, and one will die…
A momentary silence, then
The ragtime tune starts up again.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
237 followers · 383 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 2: "Stagecoach"
Highwaymen! Lay off that brake:
We’ve got deliveries to make,
And passengers to promptly carry.
It pays to be prepared and wary—
Here, take the reins and slightly slow:
I’ll tip my hat to say hello
And with my shotgun kindly greet…
That’s why I need the window seat.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 2: "Stagecoach"
Highwaymen! Lay off that brake:
We’ve got deliveries to make,
And passengers to promptly carry.
It pays to be prepared and wary—
Here, take the reins and slightly slow:
I’ll tip my hat to say hello
And with my shotgun kindly greet…
That’s why I need the window seat.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #wildwest #history #americana #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social@kim @LauraRuthless If you or anyone else is interested, I'm starting up an #OldWestPrompt. Mostly for myself, because I want to explore the genre in my work more. But anyone is welcome to participate.
#oldwestprompt #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
233 followers · 372 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 1: "Telegraph Line
Over a network of metal thread,
A green-billed cap upon my head,
Conducting trade with folks back East,
Announcing births, kinfolk deceased,
With dots and dashes, I transmit
Communication without wit,
Less intimate, but clearly better
For empire-building than the letter.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #technology #industrial #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #technology #industrial #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
Dylan Bragg · @dylanbragg
262 followers · 465 posts · Server mastodon.social#OldWestPrompt 1: "Telegraph Line"
Over a network of metal thread,
A green-billed cap upon my head,
Conducting trade with folks back East,
Announcing births, kinfolk deceased,
With dots and dashes, I transmit
Communication without wit,
Less intimate, but clearly better
For empire-building than the letter.
#poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #technology #industrial #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity
#oldwestprompt #poetry #shortpoems #riddlepoems #oldwest #technology #industrial #americana #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity