I’m drawn to the name Ogallala,

possibly from Oglala,

an old Lakota Sioux community.

An aquifer stretching from

South Dakota to Texas

feeds the bread basket of America

Supplies eighty-two percent

of the drinking water

in this area.

 

Waters of our soul

5 million years

thriving under ground

with ancient bacteria, fossils

and water creatures.

 

Now increasingly since 1960,

these ancient waters

pumped for corporate farmers

receive little recharge in rain.

 

Dear Great Mystery Ogallala,

for your nurturing, cleansing, fortifying,

life serving nature

we give thanks

for small sips of water,

for growing corn, wheat and grasses.

You feed watering holes, and streams.

Our skin shares with you, our coming

crocus and tulips and spring flowering

trees know you well.

 

We are now people at the edge

Here at the edge

where ground water meets earth.

 

Teach us to walk the soft earth as relatives

to all that live.

March 6, 2014

 

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Editorial Assistant: Jennifer Moore/ Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: Michael Moore