Hey, Tusk, since you added this thread I happen to have a couple of poems that I wrote early on in my Haley appreciation. They aren't great, but they are heartfelt.
The first one goes back almost to the start of things and is called:
Golden Girl
A golden girl stands
Under burning lights
In a world so new
And large, feeling
The gaze of the
World.
Her body feels
Distant and alien
Like a stranger's,
Only her voice
Remains as an
Anchor.
She feels damp
And her heart leaps
Within her breast
Like a panicked bird,
And yet she is
Home.
Music surrounds her
And carries her on,
As all true joy is
Apt to do.
It sets her
Free.
Pleasure and pain
Collide within her
Young body and mind,
If only her lipstick
Didn't cover her
Face.
Here is another one written a short time after called:
Haley (The Smile)
There you stand, Haley, boldly facing down a massive world
That makes at the ready to knock you down, and you
Smile.
Fear may claw at your heart and make your lungs heavy,
But against the raging attention of a world gone mad you
Smile.
With dark and sparkling eyes you look at glaring lights and
See the ominous eye that connects to a million orbs and still you
Smile.
What a brave thing you do, allowing your soul to go on view
For all to see, where you might fall and instead you
Smile.
Keep the struggle against forces beyond your control within
Your grasp by striving and thriving and always keeping your
Smile.
The prize ahead of you isn't fame or wealth or the countless
Hearts at your command, but that song that reaches out and
Makes us all
Smile.
