My Missouri
There are mountains and streams, lakes, prairies and plains
Cities and towns and fields growing grain
The Big Mississippi and muddy Missouri
Forests and wildlife and storms with their fury
Explorers Lewis and Clark began their great quest
The Arch is a symbol, Gateway to the West
Where our 33rd president, Harry Truman was born
And Daniel Boone died on a September morn
Where Tom Sawyer emerged in the mind of Mark Twain
And a young girl with a gun became Calamity Jane
This place was the beginning of the Pony Express
The Oregon Trail , called “Mother of the West”
From here Churchill first uttered the phrase “Iron Curtain”
Our history is rich, of that we are certain
Where gangsters once roamed, like Bonnie and Clyde
The James brothers robbed banks and one of them died
Scott Joplin played Ragtime, W. C. Handy the blues
Cardinals or Royals, it’s hard to choose
Edwin Hubble looked to the sky and studied the stars
Generals Pershing and Bradley went off to fight wars
George Washington Carver first dreamed of all he gave us.
Walt Disney imagined Mickey, a mouse who’s now famous
Thomas Hart Benton painted history with large fluid strokes
We thank God for the legacies of these uncommon folks
Settled by pioneers and farmers who made this land great
Admitted to the Union in 1821, we are the Show Me State
Sue Ikerd
September 9, 2019©