I am a Child of the Prairie

Prairie Wind
Connie Herberg Fine Art

 I am a child of the prairie.  I was planted and grew amid the waving wheat fields on the plains of North Dakota.  The soil there is part of my DNA.  Descended from Norwegian immigrants, I am a third generation born and raised on American soil. 

My family represents a proud tradition of honest, hard working, determined souls who were courageous enough to cross an ocean in order to carve out a new life with possibility.  It wasn’t an easy life, but they persevered where many others failed.

Mine was a wonderful childhood, filled with a large extended family and a community of caring friends and neighbors.  We lived in a small farming community tucked in the furthest northwestern corner of North Dakota.  The winters were often cold and brutal and the summers short, but the outdoors was our playground and we weren’t often deterred from enjoying it.

I Am a Child of the Prairie  by Connie Herberg

I am a child of the prairie
I dig my toes into the warm brown earth
I lift my face heavenward and drink in the sun of life
I am rooted here for all time

I am a child of the prairie
I marvel at brave crocus peeking up through cold spring snow
And wait impatiently for the meadowlark’s sweet tune
Heralding in the bright season of growth

I am a child of the prairie
I watch the gentle doe nuzzle her newborn fawn
I run barefoot in the green of tender grass
In a land that has nourished buffalo and antelope

I am a child of the prairie
Lying on my back, I watch the drifting clouds
And soar with the ever watchful hawk
Searching for his next meal

I am a child of the prairie
I may wander and explore but the prairie always beckons
I am a part of nature here
Where my roots have grown deep

And when I pass beyond the veil and shed this earthly bond
Please spread my ashes on windy plains
Where I will be at home
For I will ever be a child of the prairie