Claiming

Image: Heidi Malott Original Paintings

We found some land
And claimed it with our trees,
And broke the earth
And seeded deep within
The grains of hope and love
And watered them
With all the gentle tears
Of past despair.
We stood upon our land
And felt its pulse
And studied all its moods
And changing grace -
Each hill and hollow
And each rocky place.



In peace we worked
And weathered down the years,
Our pulses three converged
And beat as one,
We felt the gentle
Earth lay claim to us
As all our tawdry needs were
Turned to dust
And swept away by lazy
Summer wind.