We Who Come

We who come from the earth
Must speak of the earth
Softly, gently, a quiet fierceness
Far away in the mind
A homeland yet lives
Silent before us
And beautiful
Into our eyes and ears
The earth does happen
Speaks through our tongues
To wind and sky
The great trees and after them
All flesh alive
Familiar forms
And ancient souls
Of bone and flint

Know my people
From where you came
And of that long far coming
It is an awesome epic
Up from that wet dark
Into the light
Burning
With life

—by Robert O. Petty
Used by permission of Anne Petty

Photos by Robert A. Petty