Long ago at the waters of the river wide
stayed a troll more fair than any alive
She danced all alone where the sand leans
ringed by tufts of bending grasses green

Long ago with his musket, knife, and bow
paddled a warrior the waters wide and slow
Seeking elk deer caribou — what the waters drew
And there he saw a troll that no one ever knew

Long ago in the magic wood where trolls prance
no human’s ever been, never seen how they twist in dance
She turned and smiled at the creature with face
and arms much like her own, but with body replaced
by a long curving tree gliding upon the water
It looked, but at her chest belly hips, not her

Long ago in the time of the giants the centaurs the elves
a troll man found a troll woman where the soft water melds
into the land hard and certain, beneath the sky clear and bright
He said I need this thing that is moving now within my sight

But how to help for real in this land where buzzards bank
and gyre down to peck your liver and give our God thanks?

Long ago a man sinned and a woman wore the blame
Long ago the cattle lolled while a bull ran the plains
Long ago a mystic prayed until he knew what was best
He won the secret formula and by God was blessed
Long ago the weather turned like a hawk on the wing
We asked for a Beauty we could together sing
Long ago

Author: BW
Editor: AW
Copyright: AMW