THE STRANGER

    He came to us
    Out of the mountains
    Of evergreens and vines
    Laurel, rhododendron,
    And hardwood trees.

    He was brown and sang the oldest songs,
    Ancient airs re-tuned
    To praise the sounds of hidden streams
    Clicking insects
    Whispering leaves.

    Walking across these prairies
    He came seeming faceless in the distance
    Straining to see him
    A wavering figure
    Moving across these treeless plains.

    How we laughed at the stranger!
    The men called him names.
    A man from the mountains
    A hillbilly
   They called this man "Country".

    He told us jokes and anecdotes
    Yet stood alone
    When the young boys came
    To ask him how to...

    He'd take the time
    To show them all he knew.
    He found me one day
    Hunting

    We talked near the edge of a pond.
    I asked him if he found beauty
    In our wilderness.

    He pointed toward the sunset
    Saying, "Behold beauty."
    And turning me back to him
    Looked in my face
    Saying he'd not known one before like me.

    After that I saw him often
    And he told me many things
    How to plow, plant, and grow
    Standing in the snow when he touched me,
    The moonlight shone all 'round.

    By the light he started the fire,
    And on that winter night
    He gave me the seeds.

    The next day when I went to find him,
    The men told me
    He had gone away.

(c) Gay Reiser Cannon

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