When I had no thought I waited.

When I had no father I made

Care my father. When I had

No mother I embraced order.

When I had no friend I made

Quiet my friend. When I had no

Enemy I opposed my body.

When I had no temple I made

My voice my temple. I have

No priest, my tongue is my choir…

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Sadie Babits and Adam Phillips. I’m Faith Lapidus.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I’m Christopher Cruise. You can find transcripts and MP3s of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. We'll post a link to favoritepoem.org and show you pictures of Nancy Martiny and her saddles. You can also stay in touch with us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.