beneath a Saskatchewan sky

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.