Prairie Voices

 

Out here on the lonely plains,

smoothed hills roll

along the horizon.

The prairie wind

sings a plaintive song

through miles of fence lines.

Voices from the past;

homesteaders and ranchers,

can be heard

in the rusting blades

of these remnant

windmills. 

© 2023 Richard Havenga

Photo Location: Plains, Kansas

 

During Daylight

Driving through the dark,
passing through these prairies,
I try to perceive the vastness;
imagine what I'm missing
beyond this tunnel of headlights.

During the daylight,
paralleling the Platte River
through Nebraska,
broad, bold cottonwoods
tower above the flat land.

During the daylight,
Meadowlarks 
perch on posts;
cast their liquid songs
into the dome of sky.

During the daylight,
crops of corn
germinate, generate
work and income
for men in tractors.

During the daylight,
rusted blades of
deserted windmills
are fixed in position,
stranded in time.

© 2019 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations:

1. Hershey, Nebraska

2. Hesperus, Colorado

3. Harmon, Illinois

4.  Hugoton, Kansas

Horizon

On these vast and windy plains,
the immense sky meets the long land,
enhancing the circling horizon,
the curvature of the earth. 

Old windmills still turning,

still churning water 

for the trough.

© 2018 Richard Havenga

Photo Locations: 

1. Arapahoe, Colorado

2. Lincoln County, Montana