I heard her before I ever saw her.
Powder snow, moonlit path
Her prints so fine, light as the night
Somewhere ahead, that tantalizing hiss
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In the valley of uncertainty the earth person dwells
Each chasm a self-inflicted hindrance to happiness
A ravine deepening with guilt and red with regret
Doubt, the thorny saddle that tortures the ride
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Ground zero in life at the corner of expectation and reality
Ghost cabs stir the night mist and disappear into nothing
Now and then a fateful fare to share life's hustle and bustle
How many running meters tally a cost, never to be paid
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Alone within the stars on that long drive home.
Not a creature crossed my path not a leaf stirred.
Time and space were lost to the shadowy mind.
Swallowed by the universe a lunar landscape bare.
...
They tried to label you, disable you, squeeze you and what's more.
They tried to resurrect you and dissect you and the woman you adored.
But the labels stuck to them my friend, with their weak self-serving praise.
The hippies and the tripping Maoists, the latest culture slaves.
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How did I know then what bravery was?
It did not ride on horseback.
It did not charge a hilltop.
It did not pose with medals dangling.
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At first I thought he was a dandy, self-involved with mocking grace.
My stomach churned. I felt disgusted. studying his smug bold face.
It did not help that he was handsome and not so polished or over groomed.
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I have this dream of a valley, rich and high in the Smokies unchanged.
and a long lazy cloud floating up, where my hopes for tomorrow remain.
Yes the smoke in my mind's eye does rise from a fire that burns in my brain.
...