Originally a workshop challenge.

Long trains of wagons moving west
Down from the high snowy peaks
Families each on their own quest
Stress of weeks staining their cheeks

Sol blazing over the arid scrubland
Dust splashing at each movement
Bones and wagons across the sand
Creaking westward to resettlement

A hazy purple and orange skyline
Reflecting in hopeful eyes of all
Longing for that tall Oregon pine
That makes a man feel so small

For now jackrabbits and snakes
Only watch these migrant trains
Leaving behind only dusty wakes
Hoping the gains are worth the pains

My ancestors traversed that trail
They survived their westerly quest
And now I pen this their happy tale
Long trains of wagons moving west