C.E.S Wood from Portland was well-known,
his paintings are famous and many do own.
Also a writer, a soldier and an attorney,
his life was nothing but a wild journey.

He helped found the Portland art museum,
and a local county library, a free gem.
Friends with Ansel Adams, Langston Hughes,
Mark Twain and John Steinbeck, to name a few.

He went to fight Indians in 1874,
then Chief Joseph said, “I will fight no more.”
The two became friends instead of foes,
inspiring Wood to write Indian prose.

He published Mark Twain’s “1601”,
Only fifty copies were in the run.
Sought by many book collectors,
Wood was one of the main protectors.

The Poet in the Desert was his most famous poem,
talked about Oregon, his original home.
His estranged wife he must’ve forgot,
he went to San Francisco with Sarah Erhrgott.

A champion for freedom, a jack of all trades,
Oregon remembers him as his legend doesn’t fade.