Driving Home Through Oklahoma

Rolling countryside unfolds before me
trees, cows an old forgotten home
A single bird, a hawk, I think
sits atop the broken roof
waiting for a mouse or a rabbit
to leave the security of the house

Where the children once played
there is nothing left but rotten wood
long overgrown by the relentless weeds
The wind blows the dust from the land
that once sustained the family
and memories echo among broken walls

Who was here before
a family struggling to survive
The children did they leave, were they left behind
did they grow up or did they die
Was it drought, fire, disease or just poverty
that forced the family from their home

My prayer is that today children are
sitting quietly in their kitchen
eating chocolate chip cookies
listening to stories told by their parents
about how wonderful life was there
and promising to take the kids

To the rolling countryside
with the trees and the cows
to chase the squirrels
who live in the trees
at the old farm house
that great grandpa built