Kansas Gold

    by Raymond S. Nelson

When Coronado crossed the Kansas plain

In search of Seven Golden Cities, sure

He'd find Quivira and secure for Spain

Great wealth, for himself a sinecure,

He found it was a lie. He'd been misled.

What he didn't learn is that the gold
was there, oil and gas within a bed
of rock and soil in quantities untold

Had he lived a little longer, seen

The coming of red wheat, seen the fields

Of rippling, waving grain with their sheen

Of radiant golden ripeness and rich yields

Enough to feed the world, he would know

He had succeeded; gold above, below.

Source: Thy Love is Better than Wine


Raymond S. Nelson   -   ©1994

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