D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A
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Gal
lori grannis
has written features
for many national
publications, includ-
ing Shape, Oxygen,
and Flex Magazine,
as well as regional
ones, including Missoula Magazine, 406
Woman, and Clark Fork Journal. A former
columnist for the Missoulian for six years,
she currently writes news stories for
Thomson-Reuters from her Montana home
in Missoula. Reach her by e-mail at:
llgrannis@gmail.com.
a cussin' Woman
A cussin' woman's a trial to hear
For folks who want to think
That females ought to smile the while
A skunk is making stink.
But when the heifers break the fence
As I start out for town,
In pure white slacks, high heels and pearls—
My savoir faire breaks down.
When those darned hogs get in my yard
And roto-till my flowers,
You're apt to see the air turn blue
Perhaps for hours and hours.
Or when I sit at Bessie's side
Just dreaming as I yank,
And she connects with pie-stained tail:
You're hear some words real rank.
I'm sure some girls are never rude
When farm chores go awry
Their golden words are never crude;
Before they'd cuss, they'd die.
But let me step in fresh cow pie—
I take it as an omen;
So close your eyes and plug your ears—
Cuz I'm a cussin' woman.
(From
In the Sidesaddle: Ranch Woman Rhymes)
limerick of life
A curmudgeon with a very bad back
Fell in love with an ol' gal in black
But he never could
And she never would
So they never did take up the slack
(From
How to be Elderly: A User's Guide, Volume One)
With a few books
and a mountain of poems
under her belt buckle, in the
mid-1980s Petersen w
chen one of the
first four poets from
Montana to perform
at Nevada's first
cowboy poetry
gathering in Elko.
