Between the tides of the Chesapeake And the muddy waters of the Potomac Seedlings cast from an old world Seeking out new fertile soil to grow Out beyond the constraints of a crown Where freedom watered their souls And the roots of a blooming family tree Over centuries the roots ran deep Threading in fields of Black-eye Susan Under dusty fields of flowering tobacco Rising up from an indentured servant Who found love with a political exile Two refugees growing beyond immigrants Into citizen founders of a developing nation In the land keeping the name of a Queen Fertilized by waters named by native people Children became parents became Americans The multitude thriving in the adversity Where a generation was pruned by war Brothers in conflict holding the old line Under the orioles watchful eye In turmoil and tranquility family persisted Raised in churches our forefathers built Spending weekends with knife and hammers Poised around conversation of blue crabs Nourishing both stomach and soul When stories are passed around the table Of how the meal was handed down to now Here with feet in fields now fallow If I dig my hands in deep enough I can feel the roots still there Connecting me to the land The struggles that it created And the bounties it rendered Here in my home of Maryland
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Musing & Creating with T.J.S. Sherman 