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158 · Jan 2018
Challenger Deep
The Fire Burns Jan 2018
Pressured darkness,
movements surround me,
bioluminescence glows green,
back toward the surface.

Xenophyophores lie silent,
in the syrupy coldness,
a snailfish glides by,
ignoring me completely.

Sinking in the gray ooze,
every step is a challenge,
as I head downhill toward
the Challenger Deep.

Surprisingly it is not silent here,
baleen whale song tickles my ears,
as does the sound of propellers,
from many miles away.

Now, completely alone,
as I bottom out,
squeezed and frozen,
in the blackness.

Nothing here save some microbes,
invisible to my eye and ear,
I've had enough,
I begin my long ascent.
158 · Nov 2017
Animal Visions
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
I ride upon an eagles back,
feathers whooshing in the wind,
diving toward the mirrored lake,
Yellow talons extended for fish.

Diving deep into the ocean,
down into the abyssal trench,
searching for Architeuthis,
I swim with the blue whale,

From limb to limb swinging,
under emerald green canopy,
my Gibbon host stops for juicy fruit,
rain forest views Tarzan style.

We lie in wait just eyes showing,
among the sawgrass we hide,
Everglades water warmed but the sun,
alligator senses tuned to a deer.

Gliding through the desert sand,
one s curve after another,
following a viper pheremone trails,
suddenly tied in knots as we mate.

White fur on white snow we can not be seen,
large strides and large feet, only tracks left,
Himalayan winds whip climbers hi viz jackets,
we watch, and walk by, a movement on peripheral vision.

Gasping, I awaken in a pool of sweat,
tent fly slowly ***** in the breeze,
red glowing embers smoke nearby,
I go back to sleep.
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Creatures blooming from the mind
crawl into this dimension
under the guise of teddy bears
hiding under beds
biding their time
waiting for their moment
to destroy

The witch will please your every need
as long as you're her slave
on your soul she needs to feed
run before an early grave

Your acid injected
I am digested
fed upon by your need
until I am no more.

Scars are the lessons
to be healed, but not fully
to remind us to be better
or try it a different way
next time

Perception is reality
even if it is a formality
living lies inside your head
blindfolded until your dead.

The sound of the scream
faded away
the searchers gave up the next day
Now just remembered in hopes and dreams

All sins have consequence
are you ready for the expense
I hope you have credit built
or you must deal with the guilt
A collection
158 · May 2018
Camelot
The Fire Burns May 2018
the table circles
knights surrounding Camelot
a magician lurks
158 · Apr 2018
The Black Iguana's Wish
The Fire Burns Apr 2018
The greenish eyes peer, down wild and free,
something stares from shadows, high in the tree,
hello there Alice, you nearly trippped and fell,
a black iguana grins, hanging down from his tail.

Of course I did she said, you gave me quite a fright,
a chuckle and he said, come closer and I'll bite.
gleaming razored smile, looks strangely like a frown,
but it tends to do that when it's owners upside down.

Alice stands her ground, her danger bell has rung,
suddenly she is wrapped up in a pink and slimy tongue,
with a muscular pull, she is reeled in like a fish,
but instead of biting, iguana gives a kiss and a wish.

To help you on your way I offer you this gift,
when you decide to use it, I'll appear through a rift,
a hole in space and time burrowed there by me,
and I'm just almost certain, that your wish will to be freed.

So Alice go about your business, and know I'll see you soon,
and beware of the flowers, three days from now at noon,
If you call me then, well it just won't be right,
but you won't again as your arms off will I bite.

Like an elevator rising, he disappeared into the tree,
Alice was amazed that she still walked free,
but her memory was burning, what was that he said,
I hope that I remember, or I fear I might be dead.
A new twist in wonderland
158 · Sep 2016
Shooting Stars
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
In the country you don't have to pretend
that planes are stars, at the days end
sitting in the swing with the wife and kids
looking up at the Orionids

Shooting stars are pretty fast
just like life they never last
burning up in the atmosphere
like living life in high gear.

Best to slow down now and then
spend some time with family and friends.
remember what it’s all about
never whine and never pout

About living in the country way on out
the lights of life and the city are fine
but always remember to take the time
whether in voice, verse or rhyme

To say good job and I love you
and now and then sit on a pew
give some thanks near and far
and watch the sky for shooting stars
157 · Sep 2016
H2O
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
H2O
The water drips
drips
drips
drips
S       p     r     e     a     d     i     n     g
out
into a
stain
on the ceiling tile
to be replaced
in the dry season
and return during the
monsoons
156 · Oct 2016
Parachute Propaganda
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Governmental lies printed,
dropped from the skies.
The populace is stirred
by words
on the poster;
to do
the unthinkable,
to your
fellow man.
.
Blame it
on the
paper!
156 · Sep 2016
Life's Desert
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
walking, walking
never ending road
no cars or cities in sight
oppressive heat and sunlight

out of water
shoes melted
we hold hands
and keep each other going

as long as possible
hopefully we can find a drinker
or make it to the cooler of night
or we shall be another pile of bones in life's desert
156 · Sep 2016
Wiring Diagrams
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
Red wire
Black wire
Green wire
Wait for the spark
Hit the switch
Let's see what starts

Maybe its a motor
Or maybe its a screen
Or maybe its a light
For something in between

Maybe something moves
Maybe something pops
Maybe something ends
Or it all completely stops

A battery connection
Or a plug in a socket
Or maybe all it needs
Are the keys in my pocket

A horn beeps
A light flashes
The radio booms
Water sprays and splashes

No matter the connection
If it works it's right
Just like in life
When its shining bright
Inspired by wiring trolling motors, depth finders, trim switches I. The past week getting the boat ready for a trip
155 · Oct 2016
The Ringed God
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Remnants of rock and ice
gathered through the eons
silence reigns and light is dim
as he surrounds himself

Ripping apart moons
destroying comets
incorporating asteroids
through the power of gravity

Majestic sphere
concentric rings
father of the outer planets
his shield wielded

Roaming orbit elliptical
just shy of thirty years
wandering, ice crystals sparkling
Influencing the rest of the solar system
Saturn
154 · Nov 2017
The Flannel Robe
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
Red and black flannel robe,
covering and warming,
long legs and body,
tan fading as days get short.

The electric heater hums a tune,
in the mirror, a beauty,
applies unneeded products
to enhance her look.

Wet hair to be blown dry,
pulled up in a ponytail,
exposing her neck to my breath
and small kisses.

She turns and unties the robe,
like a gift unwrapped on Christmas,
from bottom to top I stare,
then our lips meet.
154 · Oct 2016
Filtered
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Breathing in the evil
should you exhale it?
or filter it through
layers of loving heart
and insoluble soul.

Creating kind words
excreting the evil
back to the depths of hell
from whence it came

Weakness allows
the evil to pollute
and weaken
you to the point

You become so
overexposed
overpowered
but, allow it no foothold
154 · May 2018
The Sand Bar
The Fire Burns May 2018
It's heating up, summer season,
drinking like a bunch of heathens.
like a river, whiskey flows,
were feeling good, head to toes.

******* ready, out past the waves
it has the things you really crave,
girls in bikinis and coolers of beer,
charcoals burning, it's all right here.

Drop an anchor, park the boat,
tie it off and let it float,
wade on over to the bar,
splish and splash, it's not that far.

It's heating up, summer season,
drinking like a bunch of heathens.
like a river, whiskey flows,
were feeling good, head to toes.

Live band playing, redneck yacht,
dudes with guitars, this is the spot,
girls dancing around the pontoon,
having fun no one is leaving soon.
The Fire Burns Sep 2017
Wasting your life,
looking for perfection,
is like hunting for snipe,
with the wrong directions.

Under Full moon and naked,
in the neches river bottom,
I searched and called,
but never caught 'em.

Cause as you know,
they can smell your clothes,
and they only hunt in moonlight,
walking on six toes.

Can't use a flashlight,
cause they'll see you coming,
can't use a net
they will hear it humming.

No matter what you do,
or the rules you follow,
it just doesn't exist,
this truth is hollow.
154 · Dec 2017
She is Raucous
The Fire Burns Dec 2017
All eyes on her as she walks in,
Her clothes are tacky, so is the color of her skin,
Spray on tan that makes her golden,
volcanic laughter like she is explodin'.
Not sure why but you know her name,
dancing on the bar like she is insane.
154 · Sep 2016
Dismembered
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
I know of a place out where nobody goes  
empty underground  cistern that nobody knows
under the skeleton of a disintegrated windmill
surrounded by mesquites at the base of a hill

A crawl in game trail is the only way in
it is how I found this den of sin
my list in hand and a bottle of chloroform
I gather my quarry, as they weather  life's storm

The first in the parking lot of the movies
the next coming out of the LETS GET GROOVY
the last in the alley behind the courthouse
crept up from behind, quiet like a mouse

Tied and gagged, dragged to the den
where I intend to dispose of them
how, I am undecided
I have plenty of tools in to divide them

Chainsaws and axes, rifles and pistols
machetes and acids, even a long sharp crystal
when they wake up shackled to the wall

They will understand once and for all
that they will be disposed of piece by piece
it is doubtful if they shall ever have peace.
154 · Aug 2018
Riding the Worm
The Fire Burns Aug 2018
Upon its back, we ride,
into the books of history,
all of this, it takes in stride,
for it, there is no mystery.
Slithering through the sands of time,
but of it retaining no memory,
simply drawing an unstoppable line,
continuing on to infinity.

****** wars and droughts and famine,
like the hands of a clock continues,
we like to stop and examine,
but it goes on as its muscles stretch and sinew.
Political changes and new regimes,
trapped in the past as the times fuze,
through all the ****** and the schemes
all of this it simply eschews.

Is this the worm of fate,
or simply that of time,
we can love or hate,
be just or enjoy crime.
No matter what we choose,
we ride it anyway,
to the future, we ooze,
there is no escape.
153 · Sep 2016
Forming
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
through life's tribulations
we are molded
shaped by the hands of fate
into what we should be
through the consequences
of our choices

years and pressure
produce diamonds
the hardest most beautiful
gem in the world

Remember that
during times of pain
and struggle
you are being
reformed
153 · Oct 2016
Make Your Own Way
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
One day I came across 2 paths in the wood
neither took my fancy, as they did not look too good
dark and foreboding, and filled with mocking crows
I turned and went back a ways to where the creek flows

I decide downstream, was the way to go
in evenings coming darkness, in the distance there a glow
I walked and walked the creek, till I came across a path
smoke and flames burned there, all consumed by fires wrath

Continuing down the creek bed, a very busy bridge
it seems someone had been murdered, there across the ridge
a single traveler attacked while walking all alone
down the lonely path, hit in the head with a stone

So the moral of this story, for choices you will pay
if you do not like the options, make your own way
do not simply do, what others have already tried
get outside of your box, the lid open you must
Frost inspired
153 · May 2020
Stealing Breaths
The Fire Burns May 2020
Sanitoriums of the past,
the ghost in my lungs,
slowly eating me from the inside.
TB
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Ancient memories
transport me
to another place, different time,
alternate existence, simply sublime.

Through the winter's mist,
darkened by fires smoke,
emergence by grace,
the green of spring in my heart.

Crested blue jay,
perched upon the branch,
above the crystal snow,
feathers ruffled in the wind.

Longing for the new shoots of spring,
pushing up through the melting snow,
and announcing that life shall go on.

The wind and rain begin,
beware of flash floods,
snowmelt from above, dangerous,
brings needed moisture.

Colors spread on horizons,
like flavors of jam,
depending on the day and clouds,
determines sunset's taste.
153 · Oct 2017
One Hell of a Party
The Fire Burns Oct 2017
Out in the country,
back in the sticks,
the bonfire is smokin'
and so are the chicks.

Keg in a trashcan,
floating on ice,
in the back of a truck,
guys rolling dice.

Yellow Solo cups,
as the stars shine bright,
Eric Church is blasting,
Jack Daniels kicked my *** last night.

Glow sticks float all over the pond,
clothing is optional as people jump in,
the night just heated up,
who knows how this ends.

Naked chicken fights,
girls on guys shoulders,
this party is smokin',
as the bonfire smolders.

Pallets thrown on,
to light up the show,
and it's one to see,
as Flo-rida sings low.
152 · Oct 2016
A Ruinous Cycle
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Ruins of a once great wall
now little more than a path
leading to nowhere
and nothing but pain
on either side

Jagged rocks reach skyward
surrounded by woeful mists
a metaphor and future of all
conceive, improve, rise
and fall into chaos and death

Only to be found, but not learned from
by the next generations
exposed by archeologists
researching the past
that is also the future
152 · Oct 2016
Float on the Lake
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Freed and relaxing
Laying on the deck
Only gentle ripples
And a brief breeze
Trade the boats stillness

One by one the stars emerge
Newly twinkling tonight

Transferring ancient light
Her eyes absorb and
Emit the stars sparkle

Laying here
And thinking of
Kissing you
Eager
152 · Apr 2018
Religious Ashes
The Fire Burns Apr 2018
Flickering flames lick,
tasting the wood,
consuming the faith,
long spoken into walls,

The cross glows molten,
a red that speaks to heat,
falling on the bare back hand,
branding the sigil permanantly.

The finger points to the heavens,
the distance insurmountable,
stars light years removed,
yet the god or God's reside there.

Ashes are all that's left,
no book or page survives,
yet faith continues stubbornly,
I often wonder why.
Based on a tattoo of a burning church at the wrist of a pointing hand with a cross on the back of it, pointing at a star.
152 · Aug 2017
A Quiche Goodnight
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
With Swiss cheese upon her nails,
I blew the wind upon her sails,
pleasure and pain scratched down my back,
with my hunger I did attack.

Set her oven temp up high,
can hardly wait for her pie,
steaming, hot, and quickly ready,
and the aroma, always heady.

Oh I wish for crispy crust,
a way to contain my syrupy lust,
stuffed with fillings made of meat,
it would make my night complete.
152 · Oct 2016
Quit Talking in There
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
The voices in my head
leak onto the page
they get me into trouble
or at least set the stage

Other times they set the mood
for loving cuddle, or flaming lust
I simply set them free
and in my thoughts I trust

Beautiful or silly
they burn their way out
its why my filter has holes
and things come out in a SHOUT
The Fire Burns Nov 2016
In a fog of confusion
a roll of the dice
where will life take me
like pie by the slice

Waves of opportunity
and winds of change blow
changing my shoreline
fast, and not slow

Some of these
caught with a balloon
or surfed on along
sometimes too soon

The places I have been
and the places yet to go
some far, far away
others just a stones throw

I have known many people
some I choose to forget
others like family
there may be more yet
151 · Sep 2016
Shredded
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
My souls *****
Torn

My mind
Penetrated

My love
Buried

My emotions in
Ruins

A zombie husk
Wanders

Like a cicada shell
Hollow

A once favorite toy
Discarded

I once was vibrant
Colorless

Why have you
Destroyed

What you once
Loved
151 · Nov 2016
Memory
The Fire Burns Nov 2016
Lost
in memory fast
a dream of the past
a connection of hearts
the fulfilling of souls
in the end made
whole
151 · Sep 2017
Virus
The Fire Burns Sep 2017
The ******* Virus
also known as Cranial Rectitis
be careful out there in the world
the ******* virus around us swirls.

It makes you ask and do stupid things
not you, but other people feel the sting
it makes you need to be babysat
other people can’t stand that.

It’s infectious and it’s spreading
everyone has been exposed I’m dreading
in some of us it sits dormant in our brain
out of nowhere or under strain
your job or life you can not contain.

Other people have it chronic
might as well have the plague bubonic
these people can never take care of anything
they can't even follow a path of string.

Ask dumb questions, can't do their job
basically they are a worthless blob
cannot make a call or use email
just gives everyone 6 kinds of hell.

They understand nothing and what’s worse
it makes the people around them curse
sadly there is no definite cure
no way to make one’s self be pure.

The best you can hope for is a bit of a lull
KY jelly around your neck and PULL
with a pop Cranial Rectitis cured
by this time people want you skewered.

Sadly the cure never lasts
and you devolve, just like the past
wearing protection does no good
it is not transmitted by wood
or fluids, or plastic or glass
it’s caused when your own head goes up your ***.
written in 2015
151 · Nov 2017
Witnessed in Nature
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
Strutting to the call,
thrumming my own,
turkey spring time dances.

Purple juniper berries,
fall amongst the stones,
squirrels chatter.

Bobwhites call
acorns fall,
mesquite leaves blow in the breeze.

Feral cat patrols,
prickly pear patches,
field mice dart underneath.

Footsteps follow in the dark,
glowing eyes in the flashlight beam,
Bobcat on the prowl.

Striped piglets on dirt roads,
squealing at my sight,
treed by momma.

Tiny titmouse flitting,
landing on bill of my cap,
being still in nature.
151 · Nov 2017
Pinpricks of Light
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
Pierced blackness causing dangerous shadows.
Gauged darkness, holes ripped in it's sheath.
With the flick of a switch, the night retreats.
Lonely highways connect the golden dots against the nothingness.

Security and motion,
a false sense of well being.
Dimmer or brighter,
no matter the shape,
illuminating a path through the sackcloth.
150 · Sep 2016
Clipped Together
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
Held together through the night,
we loved and kissed and hugged tight.
Like pages in a report,
I read the words and did retort.

3  words say much to the heart,
when repeated new things start.
Slid together to confine,
helped along by red wine.

Intertwined and almost spooned,
in your ear, love songs I crooned.
Then the sheets start slipping down
and ended up on the ground.

We chased the leaves in the wind,
caught them and then made amends.
Back together where they belong,
held together like steel we're strong.
Based on a Paperclip
150 · Dec 2017
Loving Spirits Aglow
The Fire Burns Dec 2017
Ocean tides of light,
swim across the night,
like his love for his girl
ever-flowing in this world.

His heart burns hot despite the cold,
in his arms, he wants to hold,
her forever and ever more,
so his love to her he swore.

From the frigid night a yes,
to a Mexican love nest,
with mariachis and candy skulls,
in their love, there are no lulls.

Wedded bliss as spirits bless,
a tuxedo and a white dress,
exchanging rings and I do's forever,
watched over by their ancestors.
150 · Sep 2017
Laughter
The Fire Burns Sep 2017
Laughter is healing,
laughter is stealing,
adding back minutes to your life,
that you can spend with your kids and wife.

So be a fan of comedy,
or try a bit of dramedy,
trade funny stories with friends,
laughing is better than crying in the end.
Written in 2015
150 · May 2019
From the Woven Basket
The Fire Burns May 2019
The cobras flatten and raise their heads,
their heads begin to bob and weave,
the pungi plays with hypnotic dread,
the crowd is scared but refuse to leave.
149 · Sep 2016
In the Eye of Love
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
Creamy whiteness
streaked with red map lines
lead me to the souls window
I am lured

A liquid pool of
cool blue gems
surrounds the void
I stop to contemplate

A void to fall into
solid blackness
with no bottom
I prepare to jump

Freefalling in the void
no sound but my hearts beat
entwined with another
I am enamored

No more searching
through the windows
a treasure found
I am in love
Studying my wife's blue eyes
149 · Nov 2017
Drinking and Thinking
The Fire Burns Nov 2017
If your drinking, cause you're thinking,
about her and her new beau,
just keep pouring shots,
and let the pain all go.

Share a few, I know you can,
with the redhead that walked up,
smile at her and chat a bit,
keep filling up her cup.

The jukebox belts out country,
George Strait sings, take a chance,
as The Chair plays,
ask that gal to dance.

Two step slow, get to know,
what is she here for?
maybe she is thinking too much,
if so back to the bar and pour.

Drown you pain together
Y'all are now not all alone,
realize it's ok,
to move on from what you have known.

If your drinking, cause you're thinking,
about them and their new flow,
just keep pouring shots,
and let the pain all go.
149 · Aug 2017
Prey and Predator
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
Goose bumps rise on the neck,
a shiver begins in the spine,
pure fear rises from the feet,
to the top of the head,
and erupting in a blood-curdling scream.

They **** and drink the blood of their prey,
then they find a place to lay,
to sleep and love the day away,
awaiting the next night to **** and play.
148 · Oct 2016
Obey the V
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Worshipping the V
She tells me to silently
Waiting on my knees

Start and do not stop
So I try to make her pop
No lash from her crop
148 · Dec 2017
Aging and Memories
The Fire Burns Dec 2017
Tapestries of time hang on memoried walls,
snippets remembered repetitively,
most happy, some profoundly sad,
woven together the good and the bad.

The crystal palace through her eyes,
a happy place but dangers lurk,
tread lightly, lest you break her heart,
tears start falling as the avalanche starts.

On her lips, I taste yesterday,
when we were young and dumb,
before life starts taking it bit by bit,
then one day you feel its hit.

The vision goes, and you start to sag,
aches and pains, and other ills,
but through it all, I see my love,
thankfully sent to me by God above.
148 · Oct 2016
The Days and Nights
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
I gaze enthralled
Into her eye
As it slowly closes
On the day
And I am embraced
By the night

The made up sky
With pinks and blues
Vanish
Replaced

By the blackness
Freckled with
Starlight
Pinpricks

Engulfed in
Shadow
Until my
Mistress

Is on the rise
Luna
Her golden face
Rises along with the tides

Tonight she wears
A Cheshire cat smile
I watch move across the sky
Until I close my eyes

The rooster crows
And I am alight
Once again in
Her light

As sol begins her trip
Across the sky
And our lives
Providing light and warmth
148 · Aug 2018
Longing for Texas
The Fire Burns Aug 2018
South Eastern New Mexico
not far from the line,
the suns coming up,
it looks so sublime.

Its golden rays,
shine down on my face,
but sometimes it seems,
I feel out of place.

This is not my home,
it's a full day away,
someday I'll return,
and for more than a day.

From where does the sun come,
it comes from my home,
rising each morning from a space nexus,
but if you ask me it just comes from Texas.
148 · Nov 2016
Over the Road
The Fire Burns Nov 2016
Broken yellow lines
stretch out before me
white lines bordering the blackness
the moon rises up ahead

A beacon, lighting my way
as I travel this life
following the hills
up and down

Occasional stretches of flatness
to the point of boredom
not a tree or bush
or creature to change the mood

The occasional beams
of another's eyes
as we pass
strangers in the night

Then up ahead
a curve in the road
a herd of deer
I swerve to avoid

Heart racing now
as the curves continue
surrounded by trees
waiting for the next creature to emerge

Sulfurous skunks
and prickly porcupines
and the amusing ring-tail cat
now pepper the drive

All senses alive
as I grip the wheel
living life to its fullest
as the highway continues
148 · Sep 2017
Blended
The Fire Burns Sep 2017
Two souls mixed
like ingredients in a blender,
stirred, mixed and shaken,
blended into something new,
spilled, just a puddle on the floor.

Poured from one vessel to another,
the flavors shared,
lips licking and tongues lapping,
experiences, transverse the divide,
a distance no longer, now bridged.

Free flowing emotions,
writhe, toss, turn and shift,
senses heightened and dulled,
dichotomies entertwining,
a drunken free for all,
trapped in a pistoning stimulant.

Smells and flavors scent the air,
spills drip here and there,
sticky reminders of,
how messy this can be,
cleaning it up, and relieving the memory.
The Fire Burns Oct 2016
Is my life pure illusion
or merely thought pollution
either way confusion
is my conclusion

Cool waters engulf
chilling thoughts
nudging back to reality
as I follow bubbles
to the surface

The moon
a hook
on which to hang our thoughts
whether borrowed or bought
each and every night
like pages of a book
knowing where they'd be placed
knowing where to look
a collection
147 · May 2020
Tumbled
The Fire Burns May 2020
The changing tides fling me around,
all I hear are ocean sounds,
churning and changing my direction,
mostly against my discretion.
147 · Sep 2016
The Poets Trigger
The Fire Burns Sep 2016
A wicked tongue
scathing wit
both in voice
and on the page

Do not tempt the poet
or you shall suffer all his rage
lyrically whipped in rhyme and verse
is what you have in store

You will be babbling to keep up
and slobbering on the floor
when at last the words do stop
you will never want anymore
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