Rolf Flake is without a doubt, one of Arizona's greatest treasures. He certainly knows which end of a cow gets up first and he comes by it naturally as he descends from one of the state's most historic ranching families. His cows may not appreciate his recitations all that much, but I guarantee the legions of friends and fans who've had the pleasure of listening to and reading his poems consider him Arizona's "Poet Lariat."

—Marshall Trimble, Official Arizona State Historian

Rolf's poetry, carefully and skillfully crafted in the "classic" rhyme and meter tradition, is equally enjoyable for the humor, irony, and lesson for living contained in virtually each one of the poems he has written. The stories he tells, gleaned from a lifetime of ranching and living the cowboy life, are as enjoyable the tenth time as the first. Rolf's work could be read or recited in church or at a ladies afternoon social and be just as acceptable as it would be around the wagon at a cow works.

—Ray Owens, Cowboy Poet, Artesia, New Mexico

There has been a lot of controversy over the past few years about what Cowboy Poetry is and just who qualifies as a Cowboy Poet, and while I don't claim to have all the answers to those questions, I can tell you for a fact that Rolf Flake is dang sure a cowboy, and he writes great poetry. In this book, you will find poems like "Ranch Neighbors," "Cloud Watchers," "The Eyes Have It," and "Double Trouble," which reveal to the reader the heart, wit, and deep love that ranching folks have for their way of life. If future generations ever want to know what life was like for twentieth century ranchers in Arizona, they need look no further than the poems of Rolf Flake.

—Chris Isaacs, Cowboy Poet, Eagar, Arizona

2005

2005

2005

Rolf Flake was born in Snowflake, Arizona, and raised on the family ranch. His great-grandfather settled in northern Arizona in 1878. Over the years, Rolf has worked as a farm and ranch appraiser, a livestock auctioneer, and a ranch manager. His cowboy poetry career began in 1981. Rolf has recorded two albums of his original poetry. Unlike regular poetry, which comes from deep within your soul or from the bottom of your heart, Rolf believes cowboy poetry comes right off the top of your head and should be plain, simple, and easily understood.

—Rolf Flake

The Brew

I had concocted this brew a soft drink, it's true
From ingredients that I had on hand.
It turned out quite good like I hoped that it would
And I hoped to have it commercially canned.

It was amber in color, almost yellow, but duller.
It looked a lot like that drink, Mountain Dew.
It was crystal and clear, looked a little like beer
If you can picture what I'm tellin' to you.

It was sugary and syrupy and just a little bit burupy
It kinda tickled your nose.
And like good strong root beer, it'd almost bring a tear,
But herein a problem was posed.

Because I could not recall the exact proportions at all
It seemed like an opportunity lost.
And try as I might I could not get it right,
I had to have an analysis regardless of cost.

So I sent it out to this lab and asked them, by grab
Could they tell me just what I had in it.
They said they could do it when they got around to it,
They just couldn't do it this minute.

Well, the days dragged on by, I continued to try---
It seemed that Fate would finally defeat us.
But the report finally came, my one chance for fame,
It said, "Dear Sir, We think your horse has
DIABETES."