He blew us sideways
From here to the end
With wisps of raindrops
Pounding in
And all of which
Kissed dearly to the skin
So that thy eyes
Squinting and slim
Could barely make out
Five feet beyond
Jacket torn and stretched
Fighting as if angry devils
Were trying to take you in
And hardly keeping
This fighting body
From a thorough soaking
Deeply felt
But yet the landscape
Blew on sideways
Shrubs and goldenrod
Bending down
Trees began to wobble effortlessly
As if they were dancing
For the Devil grinning.
He continued to blow on
In to the night
What once we saw
Now could only feel
A constant humming
Beat against the house
That shook and trembled
As if to say
How oddly disturbing
This howling dance
Sent from Gods
Necromance.
Then, all at once
The gale drew back
Passed the land
Left the trees
Fell away from
Each eye squinting
So that dawn broke
Calm and tranquil
All remembering
What in anger
He had spoke.
Tag: dancing
Softly Star (day 2942)
I awoke into a starry night
And asked the voices singing me
Hold my hand, I am softly sentient
Delicate in harmony,
Floating on a midnight mist.
Open me to solve this mystery
So longing at my tender chest,
Your touch here upon my heart
Flutters for me so peacefully.
Then, just as gently as they came
Voices sang me right to sleep
And in my dreams I found them there
Lightly dancing in the air.
Daisy (day 2871)
Inside the daisy
There spoke a new world
That lazily
Awoke embers
Alive sang their song
Alert their dancing legs
Two hold hands
And remembering distant lands
Two suns were their orbit
Sun One and Sun Two
Yellow golden hue
Inside the daisy
Strong Heart (day 2695)
There is nothing you cannot do, Strong Heart
Your dancing is in me
I can feel you with my own eyes
There is nothing you cannot do.
When the river is running wild, Strong Heart
Your hero is championing
Flying the flame of desire
When the river is running wild.
Turn for the sky is gold, Strong Heart
Your ancestor speaks to you
Believe in the soul wisdom
Turn for the sky is gold.
Wild horses still run free here, Strong Heart
Here it is where their home is
Their hooves pounding can be heard in our dance
Wild horses still run free here.
Dancing Song (day 2453)
Weave for me two glasses of wine
I’ve sat here long enough to know
Two shakes of it that’s always good
Dance with me a little jig
To the circus show down River Road
To knee high grass, fields afar
Through frosty fire escapes above
That keep this city awake at night
Jamboree, say you’ll marry me
‘Tis right we speak so open free
For when the moon says good day again
We’ll switch to gin and carry on
I like your style, your silver hair
It makes me think of icy air
Get right close so to swing
This dancing song floats us along
Finally (day 2398)
Finally we’ll be here
Dancing for believing
Stuck inside an arrow
Lost upon a street
Magical magician
With a potion set for me
Learning again
To say go on and let me go
Hand in hand
Rewriting each our meaning
Before you even know it
We’ll be drinking drops again
Moon at Midnight – Part XXXXX (day 2024)
When I returned home it had been decided that
One of the young women who had just come of age
Would take Runs Wild, Long Arrow’s eldest son,
To be her man
There was a bit of to-do about the village
As everybody began preparing
For the potlatch
They were different
Then what I knew as weddings
The host, in this case Long Arrow,
Would bestow gifts upon the guests
Based on their rank
In our own way we prepared some special things
For the family was very close to us
Willow was nearly every day helping Mercy
She would come home at night
And I could see her hands
Were worked to the bone making something or other
I would laugh kindly as I’d get
Some Buffalo fat and rub her hands for a while.
The potlatch was quite special for me
It was a bit similar to the ceremonies
I had witnessed the year before
But there were a lot of symbolic gestures
That I had to ask Willow the meanings of
I asked Willow if this is what it was like for her
When she took her man
And she smiled and squeezed my hand
And Moon Cow, who was right next to me too,
Winked at me and exaggerated about the grandeur
Of her ceremony
Explaining to me how ten thousand people arrived
From all the hills in every direction
And the ceremony lasted
For one full moon cycle
I only half disbelieved him
For I’d believe two moon cycles were even too short a time
To celebrate in honour of Willow
I had heard many times how honourable
Willow and Moon Cow’s father had been.
We stayed up late with drums and fire
And lots of dancing that everybody loved
It seemed to come and go in waves
The beat of the drums, size of the fire,
Sweat on my forehead
Ecstasy like I had never experienced before
I’d watch Willow dance with the other women
A dream for me, watching her smile and move
Showcasing the steps she had memorized as a young woman
It was a true celebration of souls uniting
Supported by the entire family,
I stuffed myself silly
Because Mercy had some girls
Endlessly circling with more and more food
For everyone to eat.
The next morning as I woke
The mid-Spring frost still hung heavy
And little curls of smoke
Ascended from the big fire
That had powerfully burnt the night before
I could see everywhere around
There were little shelters that we had erected
Preparing for the potlatch
For the visitors that had come
Which, to be truthful, wasn’t that much
On account of us being more isolated
From our friendly tribes
It’s hard to get word out when nobody’s out there
I walked the village
Lost in what seemed to be a dreamworld
Saying hello to the early risers I’d see rummaging around
Wondering to myself what it would be like
If Willow and I had a ceremony
When I came back inside our teepee
Willow was boiling some delicious smelling tea
And I sat down and just watched her for a while.
Moon at Midnight – Part XXIII (day 1997)
The land Mountain Chief had decided to camp at for the winter
Was full of buffalo and other small game
Looking for cover in the trees for the cold season
The flat land wasn’t too nice for them
We teamed up the neighboring camp of Blackfoot
Who’s chief took Mountain Chief’s sister to bed
Seeing all of the riders together
Gave me a chill up and down my spine
But it was beautiful to watch the skilled riders
Chase the buffalo down a buffalo run
Jumping to their deaths
Must have been houndreds of them
To skin and to smoke.
Moon Cow and I set to work at once building as many
Smoke houses as we could
In the fashion that I had first built with him
A few moons ago now
Some of the other people dug giant but shallow holes
Which they then put sticks beneath
Then a makeshift frame structure
That they layered buffalo onto
And on top of this
They lay the hides they had just skinned.
It was a massive undertaking and some days
I would ride up to the top of the cliff
And just look at all the people below working
Imagine how the buffalo had jumped with the stampede
Each day I would do at least three loads of newly smoked meat
Back to the camp we had
Wild Willow had set a home close by
Open air but many hides and blankets to keep us warm
Through the whole night
That we lived in while we were working
It was nice to have her warm body
To sleep next to every night
It was food for my soul.
Every night both of our people
Would get together around a large fire
And celebrate the harvest
The bounty we were all so thankful for
To keep us through the winter
Everybody was happy, laughing, dancing
I would watch Willow and Lily
Dance around with all their sisters
As the drums kept beating into the fresh night air
When she would come find me
She would be covered in a fine layer of sweat
And exhilarated by the night
I would join her at times
Trying to watch the other men
To see how they danced
So I could learn and feel like I belonged more.
When I would wake
There would still be smoke coming from the fires
But more importantly
Smoke would still be inside our smoke houses
That Moon Cow and I had stoked
Before we had gone to our beds
I would add more logs to each one
And when I returned to camp
Willow had special tea for me
With fried buffalo and eggs.
It was a lot of work
But methodical
Which I enjoyed
I definitely wasn’t as skilled as the others
At cutting and skinning
But I was good, and fairly quick
And my good knife definitely helped me
Some of the others used modified axes
That seemed to work fairly good
It was a city for those long days
Bustling with people here and there
Trading and helping
And I met many relatives
Ever curious who the white man was with Willow
It was clear that she was loved by many
And I could also see a few jealous Blackfoot
Looking at me, dressed in a mix of leather and cotton clothes
Wondering what I had that they didn’t
But Willow had told me this is just their way
That she had turned down some widowed elders
After Lily’s father had passed,
Content to help her brother and care for Lily
I wondered which ones.
Ashram Day 2 (day 1405)
As I flowed into mist
The flower showed up,
Dancing in front of my soul
Until I reached forward
With one large inhale.
Synchronizing madness
Into unified bliss
Soaked towards Seva,
Sharing the burden.
Captain Black Gun (day 1371)
Never alone he traveled the Seven seas
In sound and perfect harmony
Like wisdom is a memory
Clear blue days were sanctimony.
For our strong Captain whose sea was his own,
We fought together – bonded right strong,
Aligned was his order at once to every cause,
Slave to the Master, Master of us all.
Lost in distances were clear mountain peaks
Of a land no longer home that we’d set off from,
Wives and lovers we’d taken on who
Intently listened for our great song carrying on.
With strength of a thousand men strong
Our ship broke mooring, the voyage was on.
All hands on deck looked forward, ho!
Minds focused intently on journey begun.
Land became imagination that coo’d our souls
Quietly to sleep, rocking to and fro.
To every morning, as we woke to clear day,
Cheap sailors rations to make us row.
Night to day and dark to dawn,
Feign attempts at moving on.
A sailors dream but lasts two days,
Quickly blown and torn away.
It’s here where brotherhood arises,
Amidst thick fog and setting horizons;
A common quest, through all disguises,
Men! Heave-ho! Booty and prizes!
Aye! To think the lot a mere bunch of sailors?
Ruddy men dancing with nightly fancies!
Whence stopped at port, may the best man win!
Captain Black Gun and his notorious escort.
Tis’ not all easy for the roughest of men
Amidst all deceit lives honesty then,
A Pirate’s code delivered in blood
Rests all accused deep below their judgment plank.
And as time comes for setting on,
Morning awaits, mooring long gone,
For silently creaking we steal away
Locked in our treaty of the great Pirate code.
Off again then, land locked lovers lament,
Open sea and sweet smelling air.
All becomes lost, save the fresh smell
Of a clear sunny day and wind in our hair.
So whenever you hear tell of a sailor’s ship
Sailing through the Seven seas at a magnificent clip,
Think to yourself of Captain Black Gun
And the legend that carries the Pirate code strong.
