Before furrows by Farmalls, explorers came when stars looked younger,
Wanting better, homesteaders next, tender hearts to this open land, and
The forgotten from the crowded East, to weave their spark into the earth,
the sky, and prairie, quickened by fire to remove old grass, and field stones,
Picked out to plow a good life that too soon aged strong men and stronger
pioneer women who created hearth-cooked food and songs enough to
Encourage their ember into the start of stories, read by the light of kerosene
Lamps in sod houses on rustic family tables, the place for new births
Across the old plains, with the glow on their leaven faces
That became our own.
— Dan Pohl
Comments on: "77. To the Stars Through Difficulty: Dan Pohl" (1)
Should look like:
Before furrows by Farmalls, explorers came when stars looked younger,
Wanting better, homesteaders next, tender hearts to this open land, and
The forgotten from the crowded East, to weave their spark into the earth,
The sky, and prairie, quickened by fire to remove old grass, and field stones,
Picked out to plow a good life that too soon aged strong men and stronger
Pioneer women who created hearth-cooked food and songs enough to
Encourage their ember into the start of stories, read by the light of kerosene
Lamps in sod houses on rustic family tables, the place for new births
Across the old plains, with the glow on their leaven faces
That became our own.
– Dan Pohl