Elko County cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell was hired by the state of Nevada to deliver an official state 150th anniversary poem. He will be making appearances at several Nevada 150 events throughout the year. The poem, titled “The Dame Nevada”, was written exclusively for the 150th Nevada birthday celebration.
DAME NEVADA
There’s a basin, wrought of reason,
tortoise dry and clean of air
Where rivers hike to meet their fate,
get lost and disappear
Where Grand Adventure had a say
and different would prevail
And where only hardy life hangs on
to all that it entails
Where hidden hints of Eden
Dare revealed to those who seek
And where Bristlecone stand sentinel
from high atop her peaks
Where the Shoshone and the Paiute
and the Washo stories tell;
‘If we but live within Her wishes,
we will prosper and live well’
Deemed and destined Dame Nevada,
cloaked in sage and sunset crowned
Making sense and friends and legends,
turning prudence upside down
She eludes to and may prove to
be enigma in disguise
Dealing wisdom and compassion,
still, refusing compromise
She’s the rugged scent of essence
and immense in scope and feel
Mountainous and rightly stubborn,
cold and sensuous and real
Open minded and closed fisted
and diverse in all she’s of
And, as tight with her resources
as she’s liberal with her love
And She settled hardy settlers,
and She dished prospectors ore
And She was booming as the U. S.
fought it’s most un-Civil War
And when there’s have and needed ‘
bureaucratic tape gets cleared
So, She’s flown the flag of statehood now,
one hundred fifty years
And as stewards of Her masterpiece,
the standards been set high,
Be protective and responsive to Her needs
and feed Her pride
And as Nevadans, we should not forget
what native stories tell;
‘If we but live within her wishes,
we will prosper and live well’
Waddie Mitchell, cowboy poet