Western Sojourn

We went to see our fathers who stare out upon the plain.
We joined with other children in a traditional refrain.
As the cool dusk settled down on their shoulders made of stone,
We wondered to ourselves if they'd be proud of how we'd grown.

We traveled through a forest guarded far from man's harsh hand
Along a winding road carved from prehistoric land.
We marveled at the beauty of wandering herds and fields of flowers
And ancient wind-carved spires that rose up like castle towers.

The grassy, rolling hills resembled swells upon the ocean
Whose shoreline was the desert which abruptly stopped their motion.
The hot wind in our faces dried our lips and warmed our bones.
We left with new respect for what the early ones had known.

We met the morning at a place that rises high above the land
Stretching straight up to the sun, as if to hold its hand.
They say the place is sacred and the natives pray there still.
That morning it was our cathedral set up on a hill.

The mountains in the distance seemed so close from our first view.
Topped with timeless glacial snow and bathed in a purple hue.
Putting miles of road behind us and measuring each rise
It still took us half a day to fully realize their size.

Climbing higher than the clouds to make our passage down the trail
We turned and headed to the road where gravity prevails.
Sheer faces shot straight up beyond the angle we could see
While the crystal water led us to our home beneath the trees.

We made acquaintances of men and also with the beasts of field
And grew accustomed to the pain each of our ages had revealed.
We feasted on the bounty taken from this fertile plain
And every day remembered we had no reason to complain.

We journeyed to the thinnest air among the evergreens
We climbed slowly up the rocky path to beauty unforeseen.
Though mountain meadow passes we slipped backward into time
And slept in freezing cold beneath the Ponderosa pines.

We made our way back to our prairie home beyond the canyon
We gathered our belongings and bid farewell to our companions.
I looked forward to embracing those who'd never left my mind
But I must admit a portion of my soul was left behind.