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The Horse-tamer's Daughter
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Alan Jackson
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My father was a horsetamer on the edge of Halley Plain.
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His work was good and his horses fine, but he got little gain,
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For few folk come out of Halley Town; the trade is gone away,
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And the distant glower
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Of the ruined tower
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Makes few folk care to stay.
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So poor we were, but free we were, as the wild herds on the plain,
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And I was a child
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As free and wild
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As the wind in my tangled mane.
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My grandam told me cradle tales of the great days long ago
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When the wizards ruled, and the land was taxed, and the Lords would come and go.
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But the land was torn by war, she said, the tower was broken down,
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And the Lords appear
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No longer here
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To rule over Halley Town.
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And neither do the wizards come, take our children, one in ten.
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So grateful be
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That we're poor but free,
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And you are not living then.
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My father had no sons at all, nor could he pay the fee
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Of hiring men to help his work, so he turned to mother and me.
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We helped him run the wild ones down, to catch and tame and train,
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And we lived thus free
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And merrily
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On the edge of Halley Plain.
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So well I loved the whispering grass and the children of the land
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But in time I learned,
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As the seasons turned,
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To call them into my hand.
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As I rode out on Halley Plain, I would set my mind to fly,
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'Till I felt the grass below my feet and the birds high in the sky.
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I'd feel the wild ones running, and I'd bid them turn again,
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And a few I'd see
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Would come to me,
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About every one in ten.
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I never called them to the rope, for the trust I'd not betray,
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And willingly
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They would carry me
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On the plains to run and play.
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There is a lake beyond the town; the tower stands on its shore,
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Close by, the holy castle looms, where none may pass the door.
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But I always chose that ruined tower as my favorite place to play,
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And I daydreamed long
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Of my grandam's songs
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And the tales of the ancient days.
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The stones breathed wonderous tales to me of the powers within the ground,
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'Till within the stones
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Of the tower's bones
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A magic mirror I found.
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The mirror in its iron frame was bland as the winter sky.
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Never a sight did it show to me 'till I set my mind to fly.
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Aye, then it showed me wonderous things; a window on the world,
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The plains, the town,
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The land around,
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For as far as the oceans curled.
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I wore it tied about my neck, so to keep it always near.
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Besides the land
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And my wild horse band,
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'Twas the treasure I held most dear.
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But, I'll never wear red robes, I'll never wear a blue stone.
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The ruined tower stands abandoned and alone.
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But when the moons are high and the wind is roaring free,
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When I send my silent call, wild horses come to me.
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As we rode down to Halley town one summer market day,
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I saw the folk in turmoil run, and I heard an old man say,
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Go back, go back, you horsetamer, the wizards come again.
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They come, I fear,
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For the children here;
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They're taking one in ten.
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Go back, go back, you horsetamer, and your daughter hide away.
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Go conceal your child
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Where the land is wild
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'Till the wizards have gone away.
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Back I rode to Halley Plain, as fast as a horse could run,
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And I hid myself in the ruined tower, away from wind and sun.
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I gazed into the mirror's depths to see what might befall,
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And close at hand
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Saw the wizards' band
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So fierce and fair and tall.
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Then one of them raised up his eyes, and he said, Who can this be?
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And he turned his head
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With its hair so red,
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And he looked straight away at me!
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What is this power that I feel, said he, so clear and raw and strong?
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Ride up, ride up, my sisters, all, my god, we've been searching wrong!
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More power's here than we thought to find, the gods so jest with men.
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It may be still
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That within our will,
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That tower will awake again.
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'Twas an ill-trained keeper's mind I met, but I've rarely felt such power.
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We dare not wait
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Lest we come too late;
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Make haste for the Halley Tower.
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As soon as I thus heard their plan, I turned my mind away,
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And I sent it flying o'er the plain. To the wild ones I did say,
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Oh, come to me, my free friends, all, oh, come to my right hand,
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We must prevent
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These Lords' intent
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Of the claiming of our land.
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For if they should rule the land once more, we shall all be servant men,
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And you, my dears,
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Will be captives here
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And will never run free again.
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I bound my mind to the wild ones' minds, and I called as I never did call,
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'Till seven mares and a stallion bold came into the ancient hall.
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Just seven mares, a stallion bold, a magic mirror, and me
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To stay the hand
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Of the Lords' command
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And keep the plainsfolk free.
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So I bound my soul to the wild ones' souls as I'd never done before,
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And we raised our might
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In a ring of light
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To fight in a wizards' war.
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For I'll never wear red robes, I'll never wear a blue stone.
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The ruined tower stands abandoned and alone.
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But when the moons are high and the wind is roaring free,
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When I send my silent call, wild horses come to me.
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We raised a shield about the tower, all made of wind and thought.
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With hooves of might through the mirror's sight, we battered, thrust, and fought.
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The wizards flinched, the wizards fell, and they cried up from the ground,
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Have done, have done,
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Ye nine and one,
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And tell us what we've found.
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How did your starstone hold intact when it should have burned away?
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What kind of men
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Can stand up again
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Through the fires that we threw today?
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I have no stone at all, said I, just a mirror like the sea,
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And you fought with never a man this day, just eight wild horses and me.
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I am the horsetamer's daughter, the defender of the land,
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And I know my kind
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Never were inclined
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To live at a Lord's command.
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So it is my wish ye shall go away and shall leave us as we've been.
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Leave us free
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As we choose to be.
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We will never be ruled again.
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Up then spoke a wizard Lord, It shall be as you have said,
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Better to make us an eighth domain than to duel 'till we all are dead.
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With a symbol made of wild beasts and a plain-purse-level screen,
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You've all the power
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Of any good tower,
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Much more than many I've seen.
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You are the living matrix, then, that's all that you can be.
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It's clear your breed
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Is of wizards' seed.
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Oh, child, keep away from me!
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So, Halley Tower is tenanted now. Fresh straw lies on the floor.
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Tall wild horses come and go, free through the open door.
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The Halley folk bring corn and cloth and wood for the winter chill.
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The tales they tell
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Are spreading well,
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And I fear they always will.
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I'm just the horestamer's daughter, but they love me for my power;
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They've made of me
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What I fear to be
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The keeper of Halley Tower.
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But I'll never wear red robes, I'll never wear a blue stone.
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The ancient tower stands no longer quite alone.
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But when the moons are high and the wind is roaring free,
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When I send my silent call, wild horses come to me.
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Threes (The Horse Tamer's Daughter)
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