learning not to lament casually
years of traveling
studying centuries past
retracing pages and journals
and footnotes of verse and meter
oh how I struggled
to find a voice
refusing to borrow or steal
never would I dare
ask permission to copy
voices from legends
of those gracing our presence
through fact or fiction
before it was too late
I came to understand
how my own voice was allowed
to coexist on a higher plane
expressing our eventual defeat
with dignity and beauty
december two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 
a gem of a poem
Thank you very much, Bonnie!