Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate's poem for Nebraska Community Foundation

Each  year Nebraska Community Foundation commissions the state’s Youth Poet Laureate (named by the Nebraska Writers Collective) to write a poem centered on the foundation’s annual theme. This year’s  writer was Allyah American Horse. She wrote about her experience growing up in Gordon, Nebraska. Her poem follows:

Small Town Stars

By Alyah American Horse

When we were little

We used to spend out time looking at the sky

Asking ourselves what tomorrow will bring

Our earliest years were spent dreaming

For things we never imagined we could reach

As children we were dancers, teachers, writers and preachers

We were politicians, actors and musicians

We could travel anywhere-no matter how far

We knew we could do anything under the stars

The ones that lit the quiet corners of forgotten towns

The stars that our little hands were wrapped around

It wasn’t just our parents who taught us to dream

But the community guiding and nurturing

Through life’s grand scheme

Our hometowns are just dots in the rear view mirrors

To cars passing by

But to us, it’s where aspirations lie

It’s where the streets are lined in familiarity

And family isn’t just family

But community

Where dreams aren’t just dreams

But reality