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.-~††%£##@ the alvar fields @##£%††~-.
.-~††%£### %%%#@#@#@#@#@%%% ###£%††~-.
.-~††%£#@# #@#£%††~-.
.-~††%£### from north to south, thirty odd ###£%††~-.
.-~††%£@## kilometers. from west to east, four ##@£%††~-.
.-~†††††££ thousand meters. from topsoil to stone, ££†††††~-.
......-††£ a foot or two. no roots can fester, no £††-......
.-~††%£#@# dust can linger. #@#£%††~-.
.-~††%£#@# #@#£%††~-.
.....-~††£ here is earth, clay, and sturdy low £††~-.....
.-~††%£#@# plants. bushes frame the strip. the #@#£%††~-.
...-~††%%# earth is bare in patches as large as #%%††~-...
.-~††%£### you and me. ###£%††~-.
.-~††%£#@# #@#£%††~-.
.-~††%£#@# cross it to get to the ocean, or don't #@#£%††~-.
.-~††%£##@ to stay where you are. @##£%††~-.
.-~~~~††£@ @£††~~~~-.
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