YOUNG PIONEERS

The wagons lined up,
Excitement filled the air.
They were headed out west,
Some with just meager fare.

Word had came to them
There was land for the taking,
And they gave little thought
To the trip they were making.

No thought to the dangers
They'd never faced yet.
No thought their decision
Might be one they'd come to regret.

No thought of tomorrow,
Just excitement today.
No thought given
As to where they would stay.

Nor to what they might do
Once their groceries ran out.
They were going out west,
They'd not turn about.

No thought of what might happen
Should the wagon break down.
No thought that out on the prairie
There was not yet a town.

No thought of where to get clothes
When what they had became rags,
Or how to get new supplies
For their medical bags.

No thought of how
They would get word to their kin folk,
When they'd spent their last monies
And were totally broke.

No thought given that they might never see
The loved ones to whom they said their goodbyes,
When the thrill of going west
Put a gleam in their eyes.

Those young pioneers
Knew not what to expect back then.
They started on hope and excitement
That was urged on by a 'friend'.

They learned through experience
That hard work was the way,
They must reach their dreams
As they traveled each day.

They were mellowed and molded
By hard times and sad days.
And by the weather that claimed them
In all of its ways.

Courage and bravery
To them was a must.
And they had to watch out
For whom they could trust.

They couldn't afford
To wander alone,
If the trail got discouraging
And they wanted to go home.

I can't envision the west
As those young ones knew it back then,
When the decision was made
To make a journey to where they'd never been.

 Janice N. Chapman
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