Ever Westward: A narrative poem

Ever Westward

Under free and sapphire heaven, I was herding six or seven
Herds of oxen through the wildland that my father claimed afore,
And the icy wind of morning carried past a wingèd warning—
Soaring past the hawk aborning Westward freedom I once bore,
Soaring past the hawk a symbol of the freedom I adore,
Absent here forevermore.

As I watched the hawk ascending, in my soul I sensed a rending,
Like the Devil's verdict impending on my blameless inner core,
And the bird ascending's croon sent to me a holy tune
Which unseen old thought has wrought to earnest longing after yore,
Yearning after simpler seasons when God granted us this moor—
But that time is now before.

Trailing fast in heart and body marched a covered wagon, shoddy
Yet abiding, hopeful ever riding from the nation's waxing shore.
Keenly I caressed my bowler, looking to the redding solar
Light which guided faithful roamer on his calling to explore,
Hoping I might flee the cursed harbinger of war.
I—alas—can't migrate anymore.

Though this dream of beauty ending, still my mind with hawk ascending,
Ever Westward bending where my freedom may I restore,
I await; you'll see my heart descend from hawk and sky and cart
When the despots from this land depart; with the hawk's gay croon I'll soar—
When the rough is plain, every mountain low, with returning tune I'll soar—
As for now my home is more.

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Notes

The painting is The Lonely Vigil (1913) by William Herbert Dunton, taken from Wikimedia Commons.

Don't take the painting to be an accurate representation of the character in the poem. The cowboy in the poem is wearing a Stetson, and the narrator of the poem wears a bowler (which, Wikipedia says, was a more popular hat in the Old West).

Here's how the writing of this poem came about:

I happened upon a website that advertised writing contests with cash prizes, and one could get a free account for this website. I looked through the contests with upcoming due dates, and one was to write a cowboy poem.

It turned out that one needs a payed account to actually enter contests on this site, so I didn't. I did, however, still have the idea for the cowboy poem, which I developed into this.

The structure of the poem is borrowed from Poe's The Raven, although this poem is shorter. I didn't want the B rhyme (-ore) to be the same as in The Raven, but it fit well. I'm surprised Poe came up with so many relevant "-ore" words.

This is my first (public) poem, so don't criticize me too harshly.