POEM: ‘Death of the Prairie’

This was written by my late husband, Jerry Paulus, from Rathdrum. It is more pertinent today than it was even then in 2008.

Behold the Majestic Hawk I see

Perched in yonder tree,

Surveying the prairie fair

Seeking to catch a pheasant in his lair.

Once we saw partridges galore

Alas, alack they are no more.

Pheasants, Quail, and Geese did we see

Coyotes mournful song, birds wheeling free.

Sadly, looking across my prairie fair

Once stunning sunsets, shinning mountain vistas

And rolling prairie land

Has been ravished by perpetrators hand.

My heart aches…

No longer to wander my prairie fair

Now covered by houses, concrete and asphalt jungle

The quiet peace disturbed by traffic rumble.

Lamenting my prairie fate

Sadly realizing now too late…

The perpetrator is I.

— Jerry Paulus, Dec. 31, 2007

CHRIS PAULUS

Rathdrum