I have visited the USA twice and driven through Arizona both times - traversing those famous, endless roads that cut right through the prairie, leading from nowhere to nowhere. Even during my first visit, I felt a sense of belonging. I had a strong desire to simply get out of the car and sit right there - in that prairie, in that vast expanse. A feeling of home in the middle of nowhere. It was the same way on my second visit: a powerful urge to just leave the car, sit down in that nowhere, and dig my feet into the ground. Home. A place where I belong. ... and you, child of man? Rest and stay a while! ------------- In the Great Plains light of Arizona’s wide embrace, a whisper called me softly to this ancient place. A mystic voice around me said, "Rest and stay awhile," so I sat upon the prairie with a quiet, waking smile. I place my feet in soil, let the desert spirit guide, lift my face toward the sunlight as the winds begin to glide. And slowly, gently, softly through the golden afternoon, I bloom… I bloom… beneath the rising moon. I bloom for the creatures, for the wild and the free, I bloom so the smallest heart may find a home in me. In the warmth of the daylight, in the cool of the night, I bloom… I bloom… in the Great Plains light. My toes turn into roots that hold the earth below, my arms become the branches where the desert breezes blow. The hair upon my body shifts to leaves of emerald green, and life begins to gather in this quiet, living scene. Water rises through me from the deep and ancient ground, sunlight paints my branches with a soft, enchanted sound. The wind caresses gently as my spirit starts to tune - I bloom… I bloom… like a rising dune. I bloom for the sparrows and the hawks in the sky, for the squirrels and the rabbits who come wandering by. for the beetles and the spiders seeking shelter in my shade, I bloom… I bloom… in the life we’ve made. Come closer, little creatures - find your refuge here with me, let your tiny worlds be sheltered in my rooted harmony. For the hare, for the hedgehog, for the deer that roam the land, I bloom… I bloom… as nature takes my hand. I bloom as your haven, as your shelter and your guide, I bloom in the Great Plains with the earth at my side. I bloom for your stories, for all hearts that bloom free - I bloom… I bloom… I am part of all that’s living, and all that lives in me. ... and you, child of man? What can I do for you?
