This poem was a finalist in the $10,000 poetry contest. I won an award, and a spot in their coffee table publication. It is one of my favorite poems, and it had to be cut down to 20 lines for the book, so for anyone who may have read it, this is the Full Version, unabridged.

It never fails, on these cliffs of Verdain
O'er hill, and dale, and columbine plane
Where Dragons fly amid the rain
This Place called Shav D' Loche

And the Gods do gawk in mock suprise
At the childrens stare, through grown-up eyes
That they live right here, not in heavens skies
Here in Shav D'Loche

Pixies mingle with the bees
As honey's carried from the Bontong trees
Spirits commune whence-ever they please
Here in Shav D'Loche

The floating lands, and hanging lakes
Paint a rainbow in childhoods wake
That Adults will never claim are fake
Here in Shav D'Loche

And one and one get along with two
As the great Turz Beast with the morning dew
And each day brings a start anew
Here in Shav D'Loche

None can leave, but none can stay
As travelers meander on a wayward stay
Only to swear till their dying day
That they visited Shav D'Loche

And never a hateful stare will pass
As Adulthood breaks this place like glass
Because your children will find it fast
This place called Shav D'Loche

But worry not! You will see it again.
As mortal flesh and breath grows thin
Your spot beneath our trees you'll win
Anew in shav D'Loche