Missouri: David L. Harrison

David L. Harrison is poet laureate of Missouri, serving from 2023-2025.

Photo: Nathan Papes, Springfield News-Leader

Missouri

They asked a child,
“Why do you like Missouri?”
The child answered,
“I live here.
My friends live here.
I love Missouri.
It’s my home.”
It was a good answer.

They asked a student,
“Why do you like Missouri?”
The student answered,
“In school I learned,
the first people canoed Missouri waters,
cupped their hands at its springs,
drew bows in deer-high grass,
lived well off the land.”

The teacher said,
“Explorers came, wagons followed,
packed with bibles, fiddles, cooking pots.
Folks built cabins, churches, schools,
outposts, the seeds of towns.”

The farmer, voice soft as tilled soil,
said, “Missouri is dogwood trees,
front porches, barns, lakes.
It’s rows of corn whispering in river-rich earth,
cows in rolling pastures,
frogs at night singing to the moon.”

The business person said,
“Missouri is the heartbeat of many nations,
the confluence of cultures,
sharing visions, growing together.”

The writer said, “It is original thinkers –
Truman, Carver, Benton, Twain.
It is serious fishermen, rabid fans,
the Show Me State, Missouri . . .”

They asked an older person,
“Why do you like Missouri?”
The older person answered,
“I live here.
My friends live here.
I love Missouri.
It’s my home.”
It was a very good answer.

Featured Music:

“Clocks” | Isola James | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

“Cherry Blossom Waltz” | Trevor Kowalski | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

“Jungle Air” | Leimoti | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com