The American Pioneer
Two hundred years ago you walked across this land
You held a small child by the hand.
No one caught you when you fell,
Or wept to see you fail.
You broke the soil, and lifted up the grain,
And left a trail to follow.
You shouldered a forest to build a cabin,
Log by Log by Log.
You had it done by winter so you made it through the cold.
When you lost your corn to Summer,
And you lost your child to Fall,
With no place to go for turning back
You stood, and took it tall.
Then another came, and then another,
Strong like you, then more,
To build a thousand cities
Where no city stood before.
You ached, and farmed the valley.
You strained, and mined the hill.
When hope died in your bosom,
It hardened into will.
You hammered a true nail.
You drew a straight plan.
You flew with the eagle.
And you bowed to no man.
by A. B. Curtiss
(from the poetry book Dragons Guard the Zoo
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