the yellow wheat fields
are endless beneath the cloudy morning
zigzagging and swaying in the strong wind
the land glows topaz and amber
with poplar trees rising from the soil
a flock of geese heads south
tracing the arc of autumn
the birds follow an ancient path
my eyes cannot see
but here, where there is not one city light
moose and deer graze
on rain-drenched grasses
a herd of bison gallops across the river
to the drumbeats of the ancestral land
hummingbirds and woodpeckers
trill among the bees and bugs
i do not disturb the silence
not with a hunting gun
not with my boots and jacket
instead,
i remind myself
that i am only a visitor here*
i tread lightly,
taking my trash with me
beneath a Saskatchewan sky,
the wind erases my footprints
as it has erased countless others before,
leaving only the land
to remember
*Inspired by the poem: INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE VISITING EARTH
by James McCrae
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- OpenLinkNight - Join us when the virtual pub doors open at 3pm EST. Saskatchewan is a province in Western Canada. I visited last week and I enjoyed my time under the prairie sky.