Harney County Lesson

I am heartened

in this vast lonely land

by the room for affection.

Tundra swans swim in twos,

mule deer mingle, then muddle,

sandhill cranes remain faithful.

Children rush in like flyway birds

carrying songs into fine, thin air,

prepared to wing it any which way.

Angela Allen

Frenchglen, Harney County, Ore.

March 2, 2009

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