We've found our resident poet at Warm Earth Writings! Jeff Worthy surprised me with a sampling of the poems he's written about the Palouse, and, because poetry is best savored slowly, I'll post one here from time to time. Here's the first one that caught my eye. - Jana

FAREWELL TO YOUTH

I stand on a bluff, overlooking the fields of my home.
The grain waves to me as it has so often before.
Here, in this country, a person is never alone.
The voice of the land something you cannot ignore.

Tears swell in my eyes as I realize what must be done.
I am leaving today, life’s path having drawn me elsewhere.
I cannot return to my days as a boy in the sun,
Running unhindered through farmland and field without care.

Why must I do this? Why must life draw me away?
Everything that I am has been forged and shaped in this place.
Still, in my heart I know that I cannot stay.
Growth and change are inherent traits of our race.

As we grow older, we hear the world calling to us.
As birds hear the call of the wild from outside the nest.
That call must be answered despite our sadness and fuss;
And I hear mine, drawing me forth to the west

I now say farewell to the land and home of my youth.
Taking with me the pride I feel when I’m here.
I will always remember and honor the ultimate truth:
I am from the Palouse; a place I will always hold dear.

--Jeff Worthy