In memory of lives spent and lives cut short during the plague years of the 90's, words come to the edge of ground broken and spill like tears to both mourn and comfort. When age takes its toll, we embrace it. But when the young are taken with no apology or succor, verses seem hollow and depleted. Still, the vibrancy of a cautious line, scrawled as an epitaph for all to see, can stir long past the fall and last beyond a spade full of loam.In the time of AIDS, I served with the new army of caring hearts who embraced those fallen - angels thought to be abandoned by neighbor, community and governing forces. I survived and survive it, but need to vent my pen in the deepest thoughts known - the thoughts of Ties and Rings.