A Poem About the Country

The Country
By Josh Watkins

Have you ever been to the country?
I have; it's where I was born and raised.
It's so peaceful and clean,
The water is so clear you can see the rocks at the bottom.

On a crisp, cool, summer night,
I like to lie on my back,
And let the cool blades of grass sweep across my face,
Then I shift my gaze to the thousands of twinkling stars,
High above my head.

I feel peace, love, and comfort flow through me,
I feel calm and content.
I start to think about the past, and then the future,
Emotions of desire for a love down the road flood my thoughts.

Out in the country, I feel so free,
No loud noises, no constant crime, just peace.
Sometimes, if you are really quiet,
You can see a group of deer going about their way.

The sounds of the country are so sweet,
The birds sing very purely, and the crickets chirp cheerfully.
Every night the songs of the animals, lull me to sleep,
And dreams of the next day fill my head.

Out in the country, the sky is bright blue,
With not a cloud to be seen.
The sun shines very brightly,
And I can feel its friendly rays of warmth kiss my cheeks.

When the clouds do come,
The rivers and oceans fall from the sky.
Not to destroy, but to nourish,
To bring forth life and to strengthen nature.

Many do not realize,
The the country produces many great singers and song writers.
Songs are sung of love, life, and people,
Not murder, violence, or rape.
Just songs that sooth my heart.


The country is where I was born,
And where I was raised.
To me, it is my home.
Even though I live in the city,
I'll always have that country inside of me.

I was born in Wisconsin and grew up in southern PA. The country was my home for my entire childhood. It was fitting that I put how I saw it into vast and eloquent detail. This one was for fun, but I let my teacher see it and here comment was "I can feel this place!" Mission accomplished.

The fourth line in verse one was taken from a 1990s Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie called How the West Was Fun. I saw that movie many times as a kid...among others. There was a reason, but that's classified for internet eyes.

Verse two I put in right away because I live in the city and you don't get to see this often because of light pollution. In the summer, you can lie on your back and try to find black space in the sky, but that task proves difficult because of the hundreds, upon thousands, upon tens of thousands of stars in the the sky. I could stare at the sky and God's outer creation all night long.

For those of you that read carefully and remember when I said I'd submit all of these in their current state/unedited form? Well, this one will hopefully be my only exception. I completely change a line in verse three because of personal reasons. I apologize for breaking my rule, but doing it saved me embarrassment.

Verse 8 was me trying to spread the love of country music and trying to deter people from rap which I strongly disliked then.

I may have grown to love this city and now call it home, but I still hold the country close.