Midwest, the Plains, short and tall grasses
Where the winds insistently blow and blow,
With a sound whistling high as the sun hanging low
Shining a high-altitude light on the prairie,
Where the buffaloes once roamed, and still are at home,
And the wheat and 
🌽 corn sprout and grow
🌽 corn sprout and grow
While sunflowers bloom,
Here or there above the grass we see
A lonely bush or tree--
And far to the West
Carved out of the mountainside
Faces of times past:
Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt,
And Lincoln--four presidents
Look forever over a sun-colored land;
Once it belonged to someone else,
Native, American, livelihood for whom
Meant rivers and forest and grassland in between--
Also the badlands--now a stunning
National Park--all rich in history, theirs and ours.
After harvest the autumn colors
Give the fields and grass a golden hue,
Pheasants frightened by the hunters, hide;
Large birds, whether hawk or eagle rule the sky--
The wolf staked out his own space.
Rain occasional keeps the dark soil fertile,
Tornadoes can suddenly appear,
And winter--well, winter brings its fearsome squalls,
And snow drifting on snow, buries all.
The inhabitants, they are a solitary people
But always ready to give
A helping hand to neighbor or stranger--
This is called the land of the wide prairie!
Here or there above the grass we see
A lonely bush or tree--
And far to the West
Carved out of the mountainside
Faces of times past:
Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt,
And Lincoln--four presidents
Look forever over a sun-colored land;
Once it belonged to someone else,
Native, American, livelihood for whom
Meant rivers and forest and grassland in between--
Also the badlands--now a stunning
National Park--all rich in history, theirs and ours.
After harvest the autumn colors
Give the fields and grass a golden hue,
Pheasants frightened by the hunters, hide;
Large birds, whether hawk or eagle rule the sky--
The wolf staked out his own space.
Rain occasional keeps the dark soil fertile,
Tornadoes can suddenly appear,
And winter--well, winter brings its fearsome squalls,
And snow drifting on snow, buries all.
The inhabitants, they are a solitary people
But always ready to give
A helping hand to neighbor or stranger--
This is called the land of the wide prairie!
