There’s a cool cloud
Hovering around today.
It’s sinking in with a density
That fogs the brain
Into thinking darkness
And hardness
Is the souls responsibility
To bare time out here…
Like a grown man.
And in the cool whisps of mist
The rifle cackle
Of a far off mystery
Stirs the dogs
Into sombre howling.
Tag: responsibility
Rain – part IV (day 2264)
(part III)
I told the hungry stranger
That he could spend the night
In the hay barn, where I pointed
He said he’d hoped as much
As I gave him the eggs
And a warm cup of tea.
He asked if I had a cigarette
But I hadn’t one to my name
“Thought I’d try,” he said
“You don’t look like much of a smoker.”
Living as a bachelor
I kept a pretty clean house
The dog kept me in order
If ever I let things slip too much
My father had made sure that I understood
What it meant to have gravitas
As a man, the responsibility
Of keeping my ethics strong
And my morals rich,
A keen sense of duty to myself
My community, and to do the right thing.
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.