"This, Be Our Land"

A poem by Joe Wood

(2010)

I had a memory, of a land a'plenty

The men a'working, the women talking

I had a nightmare, the world was ending

This land was made for you and me.

I stole a hammer, to break a wall through

I built a tower, to see a sky from

I smelt the tarnish, of an aging steeple

This land was made for you and me.

As I was crying, on a desperate mid-day

I felt a puncture, a desolate hunger

I stopped the engine, I grabbed my steel-string

This land was made for you and me.

I took a picture, of the tallest building

I made a painting, of a falling airplane

I drew a number, in reflecting water

This land was made for you and me.

I laid my head back, in a rocky rapid

I fanned my fingers, in a raging windstorm

I put my feet up, on a crashing mountain

This land was made for you and me.

I saw a body, that had no clothing

I fed a baby, that wasn't smiling

I helped a lady, who wasn't beautiful

This land was made for you and me.

Walked down a highway, to lose my feeling

Counted my footsteps, to keep from dying

I bought a rifle, to kill my fearing

This land was made for you and me.

I took a corner, and drew an opening

I gathered flowers, to frame the desert

I scattered seed-lings, in a desolate meadow

This land was made for you and me.

I played a record, that gave a signal

I rode a box-car, that sang a refrain

I saw a man who, whispered a warning

This land was made for you and me.

I rode the pony, and felt the prarie

I stood in sunny, and wavy grassland

I fell asleep in, a lonely valley

This land was made for you and me.

I started singing, to see the sunset

I met the moonlight, to keep from crying

I wrote the letters, to keep from insane

This land was made for you and me.

I saw the Devil, in a million windows

I saw the Devil, in a crowded hallway

I saw the Devil, on a sunny sidewalk

This land was made for you and me.

I swore an oath to, an aging banner

I broke an engine, to save a man from

I loved a young girl, who wouldn't save me

This land was meant for you and me.