Forged Upon the Plains

Perhaps you hail from verdant coastlands, or from rolling hills blanketed by trees, or from the lofty perches of the mountains, or from the banks of some strong river. And though I was born in marshy coastland, and have known the comfort of swaddling trees, and felt my heart surge at the glories of the mountains, and been hypnotized by the hidden tongue of the river, my heart was forged in the plains. Naked to the sky, daunting and inviting, stark and raw. A soul can grow strong there, where there's nowhere to hide. Where truth burns like the shadeless beams of sunlight. The eye that roves the horizon and finds little there, must turn instead to the contours within. Such beautiful, dangerous features to be found in the heart. 27 November 2022