Eastward Expansion

echoes of gray clouds

from thunder that left your mouth

reverb off the canyon

a lonely and mournful sound

rain drips like waterfalls

from the corners of my blue sky

-

It took forever to get here

in cloth covered wagons

crossing rivers and desserts

leaving all that I ever had

and I've lost track of the number of storms

that I've merely survived

by clinging to the story

of a promised land

where the living thrive

-

How many mountains are ahead

I don't rightly know.

The natives are restless

Through their land I tip toe

Not wanting to be seen

but at least for my name to be heard

Making friends with wild horses

and following the path of blue birds

-

Maybe somewhere out there

someone will place a feather

in the red curls of my hair

and shield me from the weather

he'll light fires

from the sparks of his leathered hands

that are envermeiled

-

He'll let me take the reigns

and he'll tell me I'm lightning

He'll love me fiercely

despite thinking me frightening

It takes a strong steady man

to revere things of earth that are wild

-

At the end of the day

he'll hum songs that will drown out the gray

and as I drift off to dreams

he will tell all the stars of my name.