By Anna H. Jones

Calloused feet
Warm patio
Soft grass
Country girl

Weathered fence
Corn growing
Worn tractors
Country girl

River rocks
Thistles and flowers
Shale and limestone
Country girl

Tanned skin
Full sun
Full moon
Country girl

I sit on the edge of the pasture
Sitting with the darkness
The fields are whistling with the wind

Fireflies sparkling under the moonlight
Blue Ridge Mountains protecting
Our home.
Our comfort.

North Fork of Shenandoah
In my backyard
Grazing through fields of corn and cattle
Our home.
Our comfort.

Weathered fences
Apple orchards
Horse and buggies
Our home.
Our comfort.
This is home.

The North End
Of the Shenandoah Fork
Where kids play
And parents fish
On rocky beaches
By a stony trout river
And the small-mouth bass
You could pick up with your hands
And catfish at night if you’re brave
The corn and the wheat blow supple
And the acorn and walnut trees blow gentle
This is the Shenandoah Valley
Where rivers run fast
And rivers run dry
Where hollers are left
With what and who’s there
Haunted and blessed by families past
We are left with beauty, and sustain
And we continue to sustain.