We were born from refugees, those who came before

First from lands across the Atlantic, then from regions

All across the continent

For generations we grew food, raised livestock

Managed the earth’s bounty to trade for goods we

Needed through the barter economy

Then for money as the cash economy grew

We became disconnected from the earth

Wresting commodities from the soil while

Forgetting that the sustenance offered freely

Came from the ground, water and air

We owned people whose labor provided the crops

Supplanted those who lived before us on the land

Plowing over the remains of their lives and stories

We grew rich on the abundance

Then poor when the crops failed

Some of us lost our minds, took our own

Lives as the disconnect with the earth

Became more intense, more severe

But my grandmother knew

The earth speaks to us still

Calling us to marvel at what she gives

To feel the bitter cold of drifting snow

And behold the glory of yellow daffodils

To savor the intensity of wild onions

Longing for spongy soil beneath our feet

To always listen for the kingfisher’s call