"You come to Butte, Montana direct from seven exhausting years in the city, seeking solace, expecting blight, and finding home." Missoula native Regan deVictoria fell for Butte "as you do a man with a harelip despite deformities, and later, because of them." Poet Ed Lahey was born to a family of Butte miners in 1936. From his adopted home of Missoula, he looked back at The Mining City:
"I'm leaving town," I said
"On my way to catch a bus."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.
"Nothing to be sorry about,"
I smiled, knowing there are no second
chances for first impressions.
"Have you lived here long?"
"Long enough to know I have to leave,"
I answered whimsically."
(Broadcast: "Reflections West," 1/28/15 & 8/5/15. Listen weekly on the radio, Wednesdays at 4:54 p.m.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBsLdJNeQAg