Beyond

I see beyond the mountains The flat lands of my youth, When women were heroic And men were men in truth. The land lay there unbroken Until strong men like my dad Determined to subdue it. It could drive a woman mad. The treeless plains were endless Without a soul in sight. Worst of all the drumming wind Kept blowing day and night. The railroads brought the settlers In ever growing numbers. At last she learned to just ignore The wind that never slumbers. An immigrant train from the East Brought my daddy to the plains. He had the brawn to win the land With the help of sun and rains. Nature was kind those first years. The rains all came when due. The Earth gave up her bounty And he found my mama too. She had come from Missouri Along with her widowed mama, Who had heard the milk and honey flowed And Dakota skies held manna. By time I came, the land was tamed, The women more contented. With neighbors closer every day, Their hardships had relented. I loved my lonesome prairie land And the blue Dakota skies But present home with mountain-view Is where my allegiance lies. For Paula's "I see Beyond" contest. Placed 4th