Motherlands Vanishing

Grasslands

Prairies 

An oasis that we only really tend to associate with Africa 

Tall, long, yellow grass that towers over my head

This is Texas

It is my home

As I walk through the rows of hexagonal, almost psychedelic sprouts of grass

I feel centered 

I think about the history of the people and wildlife that have lived here

I wonder what these trees have seen

An ocean, a life source for the Wichita and Comanche 

A playground for dinosaurs that have left us hints for years to come.

This valley springs with life from the bugs crawling out of the ground to the lichen on the trees

There is evidence of renewal 

Evidence of rebirth

Less than 4% of prairies are left in Texas

An ecosystem that was once so widespread 

We must protect Texas

This is our home

And I will fight for it

Whether that be picking up litter or advocating for our rights on the political battleground 

We cannot give up

Because this is our home

We take care of each other

We need to leave our convenient comfort zones and get out into our world here

It is easy to give up when all you see is concrete and capitalism 

But the more I visit the many different places and ecosystems around this state

The more I realize what we are fighting for

When I meet people who take care of those around them even though they are at their worst, I realize what we are fighting for.

Texas is not our enemy but our home

And that is not something I’m ready to just give up on