VERY ROUGH: Field of Sand

[lofro]

Written just now in my Senior Sem class.

“Field of Sand”

What do I think of when I think of Kazakhstan?
Not much at all; just a field of sand,
And perhaps the occasional Soviet highway,
Only slightly kept up.

I know that isn’t true:
I’ve researched it, or at least asked Google.
It has a land mass as big as all of Western Europe
But less than fourteen people to the square mile.
It’s the world’s sixth largest grain grower,
And it may be home to the apple,
Which is a surprise to Eve, I’m sure.

It has been independent four times,
Thrice from the Khans and once from the Communists,
And it is led by Nazarbayev, a president for life.
They do say the elections are getting better.

I read all these things, again and again,
Their educational system, their culture,
Their history, their lives,
But it never changes;
To me, Kazakhstan is just fifteen million people
Living in one vast field of sand.
Fifteen million people,
And you.

-9/4/2007