I am awake yet not conscious,

Held captive in the no man's land between Consciousness and Oblivion.

The hours stretch on and on

And yet, peace still does not come.

All of a sudden, I stand in a meadow of emerald grasses,

Surrounded by boulders and the crisp scent of pine;

Silently but with pulse racing

I watch the ethereal beauty that stands before me,

A "menace" in the eyes of man,

Though nothing could be further from truth.  

Gracefully she floats nearer;

I should be scared of such untamed energy yet my heartbeat slows to a steady pace

Recognizing a kindred spirit;

A bridge between our two species,

Held by a force mightier than man could ever hope to be—Mother Nature.

Where others would falter I am not afraid

For she is not the one I should fear.

Slowly she draws near

Sun reflecting off her mantle of white and silver

Creating a soft halo around features loving and strong;

Robes fit for a queen.

But her eyes! Her eyes are what capture me,

Windows into her soul.  

Eons of strife and conflict—the legacy of generations past—flit across those pools of silver

Quickly replaced by the hardships of recent years; A gift so powerful that it will stay with me until I die.

Suddenly shots ring out, blood is everywhere

But it is not my own.

Alas, She lays crumpled at my feet though the crippling pain I feel is no less real.  

Bit by bit the light drains from her eyes; not a single whimper escapes her lips—

Stoic to the last.

A paw gently comes to rest on my outstretched hand; a promise that her death will not be in vain.

A chilling lament floats on the breeze

Filled with heartbroken love and anger,

Rising above the treetops

Announcing to all, a soul lost too soon;

A tribute to an amazing warrior,

A soul so wild and free even the hunter's bullet could not distinguish.  

I start awake as the last note rings in my ears

My face covered in tear tracks of mourning.

Amid anger and betrayal my head raises high,

A glint of silver swimming in an ocean of blue;

A mother, daughter, sister, partner—she will not be forgotten.

No, she will never be forgotten.