My Country 'Tis Of Thee

In this vast northern country of my birth
summers are too short and winters too long
yet in the northern hemisphere this is as it
should be. The richness of the landscape in
this great, broad land is unparalleled from
its great plains, its multitude of lakes and
powerful rivers, huge tracts of boreal forest
and endless mountain ranges -- where three
oceans lap the shores of this land there is all
required to sustain the lifeblood of a nation.
In this land of arable soil producing a plenitude
of crops to feed the country's population there
is yet an abundance to be sent abroad and to
share the excellence of foodstuffs whereby
civilizations thrive. The window of growth
for vegetation is set in nature's tablet of
seasonal opportunity after which all becomes
sere and unyielding as fierce winter winds
storm mightily across prairies and the summits
of those mountain ranges in raging snowstorms
and freezing rain wrapping its deathly cold
into an immobilized landscape of pristine
white like the garments of the dead. In
summer, though, in summer all thrives as
birds reverse their migration and foliage
returns to green splendour and the rituals of
birth, death and rebirth revolve to nature's call.