Summer Storms & Stars

The night becomes younger
As the daylight grows older
Summer invades the spring
Scorching swiftly with oppressive heat
Sunny skies give way to
Dark clouds and clapping thunder
With scattered bolts
Illuminating the dark sky
And even without the storm
The night glows brighter
With lighter shades offset
By white blotchy clouds
Stars seem to shine
As if this were their season
To bathe the earth
With ancient glow.

Westward

Single palms and dark dirt mountains
Sparsely cover red land
Paved with roads of promise and enterprise
Once trodden as dirt by shooed hooves
And weathered Americans
Clinging to bright hope and shared dreams.
What comes from sacrifice
Is a home
Built on prayers and faith
Of brighter days and better tomorrows
'Tis the west
The land scouted by few
And held in the awe of many
A legacy left by steel and determination:
The frontier that is ever held
With wonderment and promise