"This Wasn't Norway"

"This Wasn't Norway"

Greg Budig 2021

Gravel roads wind 

passed forgotten farms.

Remnants of dreams 

started before you and I 

traveled this way. 

This wasn't Norway

they all said...

but it will do. 

 

The prairie was settled 

by dreamers and fools. 

Desolate and flat like 

an unbroken slate. 

Breaking the sod and 

calling it home. 

Casting their dreams 

to the relentless wind. 

A horizon that never 

really seemed to end. 

Surrounded by tall grasses, 

glacial rocks and the sky. 

Unlimited possibilities 

and never ending toil.

Setting their roots 

on the prairie. 

Distance was everywhere as 

they gazed across the plains. 

Changing the landscape,

trying to make it theirs.

Immigrants settled the 

endless vast prairie. 

This wasn't Norway...

but it will do. 

The End 

"Listening to the Weather Change "

 "Listening to the 

Weather Change"

Greg Budig 2021

The stagnant air 

begins to soar,

sweeping through 

the branches of the 

dried out trees. 

There will be no 

color for the autumn 

skies this year. 

The sky has become 

muddled with grey 

tangled clouds. 

Dancing and twisting 

with the stale emptiness

of the late afternoon. 

Evening draws closer,

 the west becomes dark. 

I listen very closely 

through the cicada's 

August song. 

Anticipating thunder 

from a far off summer 

storm.  But the darkness 

just grows deeper as 

the wind begins to fade. 

Breezes become quiet 

in an ominous way. 

The thickness of the 

atmosphere is now 

more pronounced. 

Something is coming I 

say to myself. Listening 

to the weather change. 

The End 

"Inside the Dark"

 

"Inside the Dark"

Greg Budig 2021

Far beyond the twisted 

winds above the trees. 

Before the dawn and 

the scattered leaves.

Where secrets wait

like silent thieves. 

Here inside the dark.

Dreams begin in places 

not far from here. 

Surrounded in a 

fragile atmosphere. 

They grow and change 

becoming clear. 

Here inside the dark. 

We start to question 

all that we know. 

Outside the winds 

begin to blow. 

We rise above from 

what's below. 

Here inside the dark. 

From within deep slumber 

are untold dreams. 

Bits and pieces of 

all that gleams. 

Trying to remember 

what it all means. 

Here inside the dark. 

The End 

"Life's Journey"

 "Life's Journey"

Greg Budig 2021

Life's journey doesn't 

always take us along.

It leads us to places 

we never knew existed. 

It leaves us behind.

It leaves us confused. 

Along the way some are 

damaged and tired.

Wandering to find 

the path again. 

Fighting demons 

around each corner. 

Life's journey in all its 

glory is a remarkable 

and memorable thing. 

But sometimes it is not. 

Sometimes we stumble. 

Sometimes we fall. 

No one said this was 

going to be easy. 

But no one said it 

was supposed to 

be so damn hard. 

Nobody told us. 

The End 

"Story of Life "

"Story of Life "

Greg Budig 2021

Friendships are like time capsules. 

Some very old, some very new. 

Reflections of all that we have seen. 

Some are false, some are true. 

Experience has aged us. 

Sometimes good, sometimes bad. 

Friendships leave their mark on us. 

Think of all the friends we've had.

(chorus)

Such is the story of life. 

A story of all we've seen. 

Through all the good 

and all the bad. 

All that was and 

might have been. 

The teenage years of being dumb. 

Of learning as we go. 

Of struggling with who we are. 

Good friends would let you know. 

Becoming adults with all our faults.

We stumble while persisting. 

Making so many damn mistakes. 

Too many to bother listing. 

(chorus)

Such is the story of life. 

A story of all we've seen. 

Through all the good 

and all the bad. 

All that was and 

might have been.

Age has made us wiser, we hope. 

Friendships keep us connected. 

Looking back at all that's passed. 

Was it everything we expected?

So drink a glass of something strong. 

Remembering all we befriended. 

Cheers to all who have left us.

We wished it had never ended. 

(chorus)

Such is the story of my life. 

A story of all we've seen. 

Through all the good 

and all the bad. 

All that was and 

might have been.

Such is the story of my life. 

A story of all we've seen. 

Through all the good 

and all the bad. 

All that was and 

might have been.

The End. 

"Strange Tonight"

 

"Strange Tonight"

Greg Budig 2021

Stepping outside 

felt strange tonight. 

Something was wrong 

with the sky, the air, the 

whole atmosphere was off. 

A haze had settled, 

fueled by fires that burned 

the northern horizon.

I could smell the drought 

and scorched timbers. 

There was such heaviness.

An ominous feeling of 

underlying dread. Feeling the 

need to speak softly as not 

 to disturb nature's imbalance. 

When high above through 

smoke stained clouds, 

appeared a curious orb.

Mysterious and haunting,

it broke through the shroud. 

As if an unannounced 

eclipse or a shift in the 

planets had caused the 

moon to turn blood orange.

It sat like a pumpkin in the sky. 

Just a moment in time 

that will soon pass away,

but the eerie glow will 

burn in my memory. 

Like Halloween in July. 

The End 

"Simply Exhale"

 

"Simply Exhale"

Greg Budig 2021

Close your eyes.

Feel the breeze caress 

the tired and well 

worn creases on your 

time weathered face. 

Life has tested 

you, made you weary.

It has caused you to 

hide away inside the 

safety of these walls. 

Do not turn your 

back to the wind!

Let it's full force clean 

away the layers you 

have acquired over time. 

Breathe it in deeply. 

Fill your lungs and 

hold it inside. 

Let it cleanse you...

and then simply exhale. 

The End