I love that word and you've used it aptly here. Reading your words I could hear and remember those same sounds. Mine come from the forest dwellers where I live here in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Coyotes mountain lions and bear all around. You are absolutely right about power and bully's..man I've always hated bullys. It's only as I get older I realize most of their behavior comes from a place of suffering or insecurity/ It is a difficult test in life to include them in the group as I think a true leader would do. None can be excluded as practitioners of metta meditation say. I try to remember that. Thank you so much for reading and reminding me of the symphony that is sometimes just out my window too.

You are kind to say. This one sticks out among my other pieces. It is different, but I love the exhilarating feeling that can be summoned from within when you know without a doubt you are in your tribe and provided for and protected and the rush that comes from knowing you would do anything to give that same feeling back to every one of them. As a somewhat introverted shut it, I don't get to feel that often, but I have and I tried to capture that here. Thank you so much for reading.

Now I wanna go back and do one of these: patriarch --> matriarch. Then it would be a showdown between the value had in the alliterative effect as it stands now or in the more poignant and accurate matriarch description. Likely the latter would win out. Thank you so much for the observation and for reading. I had to smile at this one. Wish I had thought of it.

Best,

IO