1846

This is not the earth

That I'm remembering now

Scattered sticks by
My fire

Behind me

Canvas

Tepee

Hide in the moon
Once Elk

Radiating power;

A monolithic statue

In the meadow

So my people cherished
and mourned

Taking you

Elk

As one of our greatest gifts

Great Spirit

Led you out of 

The world in the sunset

This humble fire of mourning

Is the heart of my ritual alone

Some of my brothers

Are in the forest

Some of my sisters

Are together in Solidarity

With one who brings forth
A child into the world

Others tend fires of their own

For we have known our grief now

A grief we never used to know

Here

Edge of the woods

Expanse

Clear before me

Rolling into the distances

Red Earth

Black Hills

Breath of the

Great Spirit

Rushing over it

This was our world

Fall

Falling leaves

Great plains

Things we knew

Not perceiving them as "known"

Our family was our home

Laughter

Love-Making

Meaning-Making

We had it made

There before
My sacred Fire

Heart in pieces
Sank like stones
Thru clouding rivers
Alone

Still praising

Great Spirit
For all things given

And all things known
That now seem
Disappeared

But
One
Fleeting
Memory
Set
In
One
Stone
Falling
Past
Me
Stood still;

Several of us

in our tepees
lost the light of
the little torches
we'd kept
Before sleeping
-an unexpected dampness
in the wood

We laughed
In Darkness
Strong as light

One of our sisters came in
with fire;
Our faces lit
In a warm flickering glow

This is what I remember most;
Our beautiful warm blessed faces
In the firelight

But Memory
Flickering
Out
Across
The earth
Leaves me looking thru the plains

Fire still burning
Tears in my eyes.