Thedford

Thedford (18-132B)

Across Highway 2 in Spring

Sandhills full of life

desolate road dotted with pools

Coal trains rumble past

dual track of BNSF

four steel ribbons cut terrain

Cattle and calves

mallards and geese

bulky deer filled out

Luscious green of grass

solitude full of life

sparse unincorporated towns

Antioch, Lakeside, Ellsworth, 

Bingham, Ashby, Hyannis

Whitman, Mullen, Thedford

Rip Van Winkled

Sleepy from another era

Lunch at Sandhills Corral

No fast food in 100 mile stretch

Waitress fits the outback of Nebraska

Lithe beauty like all that surrounds

Rugged splendor fills with awe

to stay through Winter's harshness - isolated

rewarded with grandeur of rolling hills

Valleys gathering water

'til collected in Middle Loup

further east widens

From small creeks all draining

together to form rambling river

winds between hills with green banks

Friendly country this time of year

Winter's cocoon shaken off

a drive out of the way

Land undiscovered

solitude that busyness disturbs

hubbub of city not welcome

Where grime of megalopolis

rubs off in gritty life on the land

payphones, cell phone coverage hasn't penetrated

Roughness of nature

all - people and landscape - weathered
tanned leathery golden skin

Cowboy hats aren't a fashion statement
natural as skin it accents
a person's natural grace

Place inviting to poets

where mind expands in open country

words spill to page as lost in time

Solitude that draws
haunting the soul
beckoning to remember

Symbiotic relationship
an ancient rhythm
lost in the commotion