The Earth Forgets


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they buried their elders by firs and pines,
but the good earth has sucked back their bones,
washed the soil clean.
they who came from the umbilical cord
of the Earth, from the lap of the Mother,
from the earth's womb of sacred songs.

before their mass dyings, their agonies,
they painted watchful faces on river rocks,
ancestor spirits and riderless guides to protect.
their children danced, beat drums, paddled
beneath falls and between river rocks.
they loved the scent of life,
the frozen snow,
and the great waters that made up the world.
the whole Earth was their chapel.
but heaven did not act in their favor.
not for they who rode the sacred groves,
wandered the green Oregon valleys,
across the fertile lands,
and into the craggy Steens and Wallowas.

today the land touts big houses,
timber yards, glass factories,
cowherds, industrial stacks,
asphalt roads, restaurants, and hotels.
rivers host jetboats.
ski lodges offer up hot toddies.

Earth forgets with ease.
auctions off sorrow for so little.
but for these first peoples,
the morning mists melt into their songs.
dressed in ancient robes and feathers,
they ally themselves with the grasses,
the thirsty sky,
the tongue of eternity that licks us all.
now they act as their own towering ministers
in a wildness that once was theirs,
in the summit snow, the deep ravines.
their spirit hangs in sacred plants, tranquil arms
and the gracious voices of their long gone elders.

the vast lands have forgotten them,
though they not the land.

I'll Love You Till

sharks jump
out of the water, dance
and tell me what life is like  
beneath the seas.
crooks return all they stole,
and you and I
never have to do laundry again.
so hang on
for a wild ride
in this small and beautiful world
on the wheels of a great love.

  

Heavenly Hot Chocolate

when we pass on
and reach the heavens
a sacred room awaits us
it will have a table
and two hot chocolates
there we can continue
where we left off