<p>An extraordinary picture of life in the Old West of 19th century Colorado mining towns as seen through the poetry of a talented woman.  The poems touch universal human concerns:  The laments of lost youth and of getting older, poems of love and of grief, of nature and of maternal experiences.  In addition, there are stories of the times:  the suicide of a local prostitute, a “Hiawatha”-like Indian story, a humorous story of a cowboy whose demise resulted because “he ate his pie with a fork” and mining stories from Leadville, Cripple Creek and other places.  Some of the writings are almost unbearably poignant and others will bring out-loud laughter.  </p>