Ode To Texans - The People The Devil Left Behind Poem by Kathleen J. Shields

I received this poem in an email and it enticed me to write an additional poem to go along with it. The first poem is:

ODE TO TEXAS - Author Unknown

The devil wanted a place on Earth, Sort of a summer home
A place to spend his vacation, whenever he wanted to roam.
So he picked out Texas, A place both wretched and rough
Where the climate was to his liking and the cowboys hardened and tough.
He dried up the streams in the canyons, and ordered no rain to fall
He dried up the lakes in the valleys, then baked and scorched it all.
Then over his barren country, He transplanted shrubs from hell.
The cactus, thistle and prickly pear, the climate suited them well.
Now the home was much to his liking, but animal life, he had none.
So he created crawling creatures that all mankind would shun.
First he made the rattlesnake, with its forked poisonous tongue.
Taught it to strike and rattle and how to swallow its young.
Then he made scorpions and lizards and the ugly old horned toad.
He placed spiders of every description, under rocks by the side of the road.
Then he ordered the sun to shine hotter, Hotter and hotter still.
Until even the cactus wilted and the old horned lizard took ill.
Then he gazed on his earthly kingdom, as any creator would
He chuckled a little up his sleeve and admitted that he'd done good.
'Twas summer now and Satan lay, by a prickly pear to rest.
The sweat rolled off his swarthy brow, so he took off his coat and vest.
'By Golly, ' he finally panted, 'I did my job too well,
I'm going back to where I came from, 'cuz Texas is hotter than Hell.'
Author unknown


My poem:

ODE TO TEXANS – The People the Devil Left Behind

The Devil created a place on Earth, Hotter than he expected
Then he created the Cowboy, and boy were they perfected.

So in the end the Devil retreated, Headed back to his hell
Never looking back, to give his final farewell
He left all his Texas creation, lay in place to swelter
The cowboys remained in Texas to survive and create some shelter

But little to the Devil’s surprise them cowboys sure did thrive
The heat and the climate of Texas, made them feel so alive
They made large brimmed cowboy hats just to shade their heads
Then they wore thick Wrangler jeans, as blue protective threads

They shielded their barren feet from those shunned crawly creatures
By donning thick black boots with tough leather features.
Staying cool in inner tubes as they floated down the river
The Texas girls bikini’s, so small, barely slivers
Drinking beer, they partied hardy, tough and burly for sure,
stronger than the devil expected, and a wee bit immature
They did what they had to to survive, on this scorched desert land
Growing their fields like the best of ‘em, in this hot Texas sand.
Eating ice cream by the gallon, they managed to cool down
Then jumped on their horses and galloped, to the nearest party town.
This Texas land was designed to kill, slaughter and malnourish
But them cowboys made the most of it, they found ways to flourish
Texans Successfully thriving where the Devil simply could not.
Cause hell might be known as heated, but Texas is definitely HOT!

Author, Kathleen J. Shields