In “The Boley Rodeo” by Marilyn Nelson, the author uses descriptive imagery to portray the reality of the rodeo. This poem is about cowboy culture and identity, that being a true cowboy is not choosing what to wear, it is way more than this, it is about inner strength. The speaker here describes that the cowboy identity goes far beyond material elements, stating, “It’s not clothes that make the cowboy. It’s something behind a bronzed face” (Nelson 7-8). In this line, with the contrast between appearance and inner character, the poet focuses on the value of the cowboy culture rather than…