Each line of this poem was created by small groups of participants in the Oklahoma Project Symposium: Creating the State We Want to Live in – April 30, 2016 (the groups were asked to write a line that expressed their hopes for Oklahoma beginning with an assigned letter. They did not know what the other groups were writing or what the first letter of each line would eventually spell):

Discover, understand, and tell the true stories of Oklahoma’s lands, peoples, and economies

Empower the individual through education and community

A fighting chance for new progressive rules through ballot initiatives

Reclaim the right to quality education: soar, grow, bloom

Oklahoma will be a place where a person’s paycheck can cover basic needs without fear of discrimination or the want of healthcare.

Know that you deserve better

Let us all work together to create a brighter future for Oklahoma

Allow yourself to think outside your borders

How language initiates change and substantiates progress

Open minded Oklahomans is not an oxymoron

Making a commitment to take action. (individually, within your neighborhood, within your organization, and with your legislators) is the next step for each of us in creating the Oklahoma, the state we want to live in

A next step does not start with a blank canvas, but with using the collective wisdom of the ages; we must move Oklahoma to the celebration of the interdependence of community.