America

With the grandeur of prairies and canyon With Georgian welcomes from Springer Mountain With cooler welcomes of Katahdin America rises with five million feet To exult among more mosses, mammals, trees Than have survived in spaces smaller than countries A president named Teddy signed off on it America rises with these five million feet With delirious descent of peregrines With the swooping swish of eagles with fish With raising and saving whooping cranes America still rises across millions of feet Grace as in the disappearing Chestnut Timelessness and wonder in the redwood Gifts of Euphorbia, Aster, Camelia America rises in chlorophyll and feet With red and green blood that will unify With Hibiscus threatened by goats in Hawaii America rises and falls from view America for all, always preserved by the few (c) First published with gratitude in 2005; God Bless America - and the rest of humanity. Shalom, shalom!