Dear God,

I want to thank you for these rugged Rocky Mountains,
that you formed and stacked so close up to the sky.

I wonder if you made them to inspire and to uplift us,
or simply piled them up here just to echo eagle’s cry.

How their heights still make me dizzy, every time I travel through them,
and their beauty pours a peace into my soul…

And I pause here and I ponder if the lakes reflect their splendor,
clear to heaven and if that has been your goal.

God, we’ve scratched upon their surface with our railroads and our highways,
that still take us to the places where we really want to go.

But sometimes, stark fear will grip us as we peer beyond the edges,
into crystal streams that run at least a thousand feet below.

I still marvel at the colors from pale gray to deep magenta…
at the purples and the depths of valleys green;

and I think you must have rested as you finished with creation,
with these mountains as your footstool while you looked upon the scene.

I feel sure you smiled contented as you scattered seeds for flowers,
and you watered them with raindrops so they’d grow.

Then you chilled the earth for winter, let it rest until the springtime,
as you capped these mighty mountains with a sparkling crown of snow.

When you hung your lovely rainbows that still follow summer showers,
did you place them there before us so we’d see,

that your guiding hand will lead us ever onward, ever upward?
If we trust you, you will set our spirits free.

God, we love these Rocky Mountains
you’ve created for our pleasure,
but we love you more, and this
will be my prayer…

that we honor and adore you,
place our heart and soul before you,
and accept the strong protection
you provide with loving care.

A cowboy poet who didn't even know it

Locally acclaimed cowboy poet Nona Kelley Carver learned to write poetry completely by accident. Read More »