once upon a time
i lived in a mysterious mirror
made entirely of imagination
and in this mirror
everything imagined
manifested

i imagined the mirror
to be a vast castle
whose corners and caverns
i could never see
and in truth, by this
i was made afraid

one day i realized (inevitably)
that i was alone in the vast castle
whose corners and caverns i could never see
and just as inevitably i imagined
another.

forgetting the power of this mysterious mirror
i set about facing fears
once and for all i would find out
just what those corners and caverns
were about

of course i thought i was still alone
and in truth i was still afraid
when suddenly and without warning
i stumbled upon another
an-other?

startled i asked, "who are you?"
You said, "i am You"
"you are not" I replied
"i am" You asserted.

I didn’t understand.
I had been alone in the mysterious mirror
I had been alone in fear
I had been alone in that mysterious mirror
when suddenly You had appeared.

"How can you be?" I asked.
"I am that I am" came the reply.
"But if i am you," I objected,
"you would be me."
"i cannot be you and me" You answered.

then all at once
(and again without warning)
in walked yet another!
AN-OTHER?!?!

"well who are you?" I startled.
"i am Me" came the answer
"but you cannot be me" I baffled
"well i cannot be You" Me defended
"well i cannot be Me either" You demanded

desperate to make all things clear again
I tried to make You and Me dis-appear
but I could not undo what I had imagined
so I went on living in fear and confusion
with You and with Me
as did They with Each Other.


i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
i was born in muddy waters
hot,
sticky,
troubled,
deep

i washed up on the mountainside
only half alive
with one foot still in ether-land
the other to survive

i was forged by thunder clap
by naked fire in the sand
and will return from whence i came
but not before i stand

i was left here by the lightening
to remember, to grow old
to forget the stories taught me
and unbind the ones untold

i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
i was born in muddy waters
hot,
sticky,
troubled,
deep

i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
they may crack and bleed and burn
but they never yield to heat

i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
and they can only dance with danger
with my anger as their meat

i’m as steady as the ocean bed
my mountain nestles in
i’m the torrent wave that shakes and quakes
the rusty boat within

my mountain lady feet
have made my mountain lady thighs
i have mountain lady sorrows
i have mountain lady spies

i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
i was born in muddy waters
hot,
sticky,
troubled,
deep

i climbed up the mountain
just to see what i could see
and all i found besides the wind
was the light
the earth
and me

so i sojourn in the valley
to find a good story to tell
and for anyone who holds me
i’m the water in the well

i am daughter to the storm
i am mother to the cloud
though my journey be a stealth one
by my meaning i am loud

i am shelter for the tender
though i burn away the night
by the soles upon my feet
i live to set the souls abright

this is the legend as it is told
the story before time
and by rule of legend telling
i am declared in rhyme

but the skin that binds me to a name
a body, to a face
is too tired to remain
in this god forsaken place.

i will wither and obey the tide
when i return to shore
with my last breath and word
i shall settle every score
with my last breath and word
i ain’t gonna worry no more

i am a mountain lady woman
i got mountain lady feet
i was born in muddy waters
hot,
sticky,
troubled,
deep


poor, black and ugly
pure black gold
pour black money
pure black soul.

put your faith
in faith filled things
muddy waters
bees in spring

put your faith
in faith filled things
red rich soil
trees that sing

put your faith
in faith filled things
muddy waters
bees in spring

put your faith
in faith filled things
red rich soil
blood that sings
the sanguine song

these may be the days
when the poets don’t believe
these may be the days
when the rivers bleed
but be assured by the mighty
blade of grass beneath the sand
this is her land
this is her land.

poor, black and ugly
pure black gold
pour black money
pure black soul.

put your faith
in faith filled things
muddy waters
bees in spring

put your faith
in faith filled things
red rich soil
trees that sing

put your faith
in faith filled things
muddy waters
bees in spring

put your faith
in faith filled things
muddy waters
blood that sings
the sanguine song


basically dancing
basically still
basically what i cannot
i basically will

basically sassy
basically good
basically running like i
basically should

basically tired
basically chill
basically wired
basically real

basically twisted
basically sound
basically simple
basically profound

and i am warm like the waters
and i am deep as the sea
and i am warm like the waters
come to me

only for a little while
will we rest within this quiet place
will we exist in this marvelous space
will we assume this magnificent shape

it’s only a matter of time
before the waves come in
with just enough roar of the tide
to take this ship out again

basically hungry
basically fed
basically empty
basically dead

basically harmless
basically tame
basically different
basically the same

basically lovely
basically divine
basically midnight
basically starshine