Oh Texas, my Texas,
I loved you while young,
when the songs of my youth
were still fresh on your tongue.

Your hills, your forests,
your deserts, and seas.
Yet I was invisible
under your trees.

You heard my laughter
and noted my tears.
You tried to embrace
my joy and my fears.

When I was with you
my shyness turned wild –
from innocent girl
to grown-up child.

God’s country protected me
just for a while –
from myself, from the world,
and the things I aspired.

When I left you,
you took my father away.
Was that punishment
for my failure to stay?

I miss the spangled nights.
I miss the Yellow Rose.
Yet the new dawn opens
and the old doors close.

There is no one left
for me to mourn.
In my meadow, here,
I remain, reborn.

New life I’ve found
in a place far away.
In God’s arms I am safe,
and here I shall stay.

My new life is fresh
and its pastures are green,
content to have my
memorial clean.

Oh Texas, my Texas,
farther from me.
You shaped me, formed me,
and set me free.