You woke up in a sunshine day
So brightly in the field
Born among crop grasses and herbs
You rose above the rest.
And now each morning
You rise awake
East your morning face,
Track sun through day lit sky
And say goodnight
To Western sunset
Sweetly for the night.
Tag: herbs
Moon at Midnight – Part XXXXXVIII (day 2032)
I felt like I was getting pretty good at identifying plants
It was really enjoyable for me
To go out looking for medicine and herbs
With Willow
It was incredibly peaceful with her
Walking lightly through the forest
Listening to birds
And waiting for animals to do their things
Before we did ours
This was a beautiful life,
I kept thinking to myself
How I had been so lucky to have
Met Moon Cow so many moons ago now
As they stopped me while I was walking
East from Amy and Frank’s house
After leaving them for the first time,
One day while the two of us
Were stopped along a brook
I asked Willow if she wanted more children
She looked at me and smiled
And said that she had always dreamed
Of having four children
I guess I had kind of already known her answer
Before I had asked it
But was looking for some kind of affirmation
I felt at home with her
I knew that much for certain
I knew that my lonely heart
That had set me out on the road
So many moons ago
Was no longer lonely
That Willow and Lily and Moon Cow
Were the family I really never knew
I was missing.
I held her close
And kissed her deeply
I could feel the gentle squeeze
Her strong hands made
Upon the small of my back
As she let me know with her hands
How she felt about me
Her love was like the sun on my skin
Her touch burned me
With complete satisfaction
Right to my soul
In a way that I had never felt before
Every moment with her
She taught me how to be a more kind human.
We spent the remainder of the warm but late
Summer day tangled in each other
Rolling in each others ecstasy
Rising and flowing
As we taught each other
The flow of the river
With our hands and noses
With our gentle kisses
And passion.
Moon at Midnight – Part XXXXXI (day 2025)
One of the fellows came around telling us
That a grizzly bear was in the neighbourhood
So for that whole spring we were all kind of worried
About running into one
As a result, it was decided that
Whenever anybody would leave the village
It would be advisable for them to have
Somebody with a bow and arrow with them
For protection
Because of this
I would frequently accompany Willow
As she went deep into the forest
To find some of the herbs she needed
That had been depleted over the Winter months
Of course, I often had done this before
To learn more about what she knew of the land
But now there was a bit of an extra reason
For me to be with her more.
Though Lily wasn’t quite
Going out of the village on her own missions yet
We still tried to have the young scouts
Watching over the young girls
It was kind of a bit of a task for them
To feel like they had responsibility
One of the many subtle ways
In which my Blackfoot family
Encouraged their children
To take on more of a role in the community.
I started seeing Lily more and more
With a handsome young scout
Named Laughing Bull
He was 2 years her elder
And he would often just sit and watch her
Following her around, smiling,
I could see Long Arrow’s youngest boy, Big Moon,
Always looking sadly at Lily
I know that he cared for her
A whole hell of a lot
And being the age he was
And his brother just getting married
I knew that he was thinking
Of her as more then just a friend.
Lily was a charismatic and big eyed girl
Who had even intrigued me
That day that I had first come to the village
So many moons ago now
And no doubt her curiosity would drive
Plenty of men crazy upon meeting her,
Falling instantly in love,
But for now, Lily just wasn’t old enough
To be carrying long eyes for the boys
I talked to Willow about this
For it was me trying to understand her culture,
She waved it off as if it was nothing
That Lily was still far too young
And if Big Moon or Laughing Bull approached us
With ideas of aligning
It was out of the question.
Moon at Midnight – Part XXV (day 1999)
Winter was cold and long
But we had each other and lots of buffalo meat
So what else could a person ask for?
Moon Cow would very often come over
To our teepee and we would all talk,
Moon Cow being the interpreter most of the time
We would go walking when we could
Through the snow following tracks here and there
It became a game on the nice days
On the cold days it was a chore
But there is no other way
When you live off the land.
I spent a lot of time learning Pikanii that winter
A lot of my white man words
Neither Willow nor Moon Cow could comprehend
Things they just had never seen
They had a beautiful language
That spoke mostly of what was important
They were all eager to learn my language too
So they could prosper with the traders
That would return in the spring.
The family grew accustomed to me
Seeing my familiar face around
And as I learned new words
I would usually surprise them when I would comment
On something they were doing,
Or just friendly greetings, smiling as we passed each other.
Willow didn’t cook as good as Moon Cow did
But Willow had a wider vocabulary of herbs and spices
That I greatly appreciated
Especially when it came to fighting off colds
For Willow also knew medicines well
She taught me how to identify many
By sight and by smell
And I would accompany her when we would wander about
Looking for roots and bulbs through the winter
As treats for our palette.