My roots reach deep into the ground

Existing beneath the fertile mollisols of my state

A subterranean net 

That encompasses every rolling hill and placid lake 

Binding me to the land 

No matter how far I should wander 

Reassuring me 

That my homecoming will be adorned 

With branches of red cedar 

Interwoven into a crown upon my head

And thornless wildflowers

Creeping around my ankles 

A wistful prairie wind will shift the ears of corn 

And tousle my grain-golden hair 

In its gentle embrace 

Whirlpools of melancholy 

That envelop me with emotion 

By simply touching me 

I will walk in the majesty of the balsam firs 

Sprigs of Alfalfa emerge from the cracks in the pavement 

Wherever I step on the long abandoned road 

Whose only destination has been ravished by time and neglect

Reclaimed by the prairie 

Gradually returning to the wild

One day, when I too am reclaimed 

I pray to be buried deep within my land 

So that my body crumbles where it was weaned 

And my spirit is freed from its Earthly roots

To roam the wilderness forevermore