Dear Rebecca,
My poem is—
LAUGHING DOWN LONELY CANYONS
Fear corrodes my dreams tonight,
and mist has grayed the hills,
mountains seem too tall to climb,
December winds are chill.
There’s no comfort on the earth,
I am a child abandoned,
Till I feel your hand in mine
and laugh down lonely canyons.
Snow has bent the trees in grief,
my summer dreams are dead,
Flowers are but ghostly stalks,
the clouds drift dull as lead.
There is no solace in the sky,
I am a child abandoned.
Till we chase the dancing moon
and laugh down lonely canyons.
Birds have all gone south too soon,
and frogs refuse to sing,
Deer lie hidden in the woods,
the trout asleep till spring.
There is no wisdom in the wind —
I am a child abandoned
Till we race across the fields
and laugh down lonely canyons.
Darkness comes too soon tonight,
the trees are silent scars,
rivers rage against the rocks,
and snow conceals the stars.
There’s no music in the air
I am a child abandoned
Till I feel my hand in yours
and laugh down lonely canyons.
— James Cavenaugh
To some it may seem soupy — but the images hit me hard when I first saw it … and it comes very close to being lyric — a thing I am partial to.
Best,