her head
popped up
amidst tall grass
gentleness incarnate
large ears antennae
searching for
danger
cause for alarm
eyes like marbles
deep, brown
eyelashes of a starlet
her whole body taut
I think
how dangerous
the world
for gentle souls
how harsh the landscape
for passionate artists
always on alert
forever aching
for understanding
Rocky Mountain Highs
not easy to ascend
proven to be that lost horizon
for the courageous pilgrim
those gentle souls
walking a labyrinth of violence
open wounds in rivers
of antiseptic
run, my heart says
to the creature
in alliance
run, protect yourself
it is sometimes hell
for dreamers
a battlefield for those
who don't want to fight
this world burns up
the passionate
those who stand
between the veils
but they sing
their songs
and leave us
their poetry
their burnt offering
their firstborn
on the altar
as they go down
in the flames
still hoping to rise again
from the ashes
to the world of their dreams.
