In the first blush of  youth,
when pain felt  freshly minted,
and angst spread the self like a carpet
over the landscape;
in the early spring mornings,
when colors assaulted the eyes
and perfumes ensnared the senses,
when the very earth rebounded
to the furious stride,
and all things were possible
at the turn of the corner,
 a shortcut,
taken through alleys of palms,
and  exotic nameless trees,
led to cages of gazelles and rare goats,
and pens  of mating peacocks,
shivering tails offered  in full glory.
 Snared, 
fears and dark thoughts,
were shed off  at the park gate
like snakeskin.