(part IX)
A cloud lifted
And Spring was sprung
The children sang
And the dogs were frisky
With little bones
Their owners tossed them
Who they themselves
Had picked till dry.
But there was something different
Than usual
Something awry.
At first it was hard to notice
But then people began
To notice it more and more
Until it became
A normal cultural habit
Based on Fear in their hearts.
(part XI)
I was there
I walked that plank
I nodded and sang
And tipped my hat
To the crew that crept
Along the bank
I held the door
And held the hand
And held the keys
And met the man.
For when I was a soldier
I stood here strong and brave
Cooled my hands with artillery
Fired into the sky
Lasers ate my memory
So fondness was my past
Peace was my marching orders
As death lay all around
Calmly I took each order
Followed to the mark
And every night I lay my head
Proudly I sang my song.
A rainbow has landed by my chair
Two shades clearer than yesteryear:
Many cuts more the wiser.
And to my right there burns a fire
So emotive I saw the sun
That held me up as rain came down
Floundered in the far off field.
Then in the soup I had not made
But sat down to enjoy
I sang a song of lucky chance
Though no hardship saved my rent.
Little butterfly held my hand today
And sweetly sang a song
Each beating wing an instrument
I’ve never heard before
To my ears rushed ten thousand notes
Beating heart metronome
Off again, shifting breeze
Flutter sends my heart.
She isn’t mine
She wasn’t born to me
She’s never betrothed me
Or sat long with me
Or held my hand
In the palm of her soul
She hasn’t kissed me
Or held me late at night
Nor deeply shared
Or deeply cared
She hasn’t phoned me
Or mentioned me longingly
She’s never sang to me
Or cleansed herself for me
She’s never prepared for me
Nor cooked for me
She’s not signed a letter to me
Nor wished for me
She’s never looked me over
Or looked deeply into my eyes
She hasn’t witnessed me
She’s never said goodbye to me
But I still know her
And she makes me smile.
The first night we stayed up with our fire
Sitting close to each other
Wrapped in our blankets
Willow sang me some songs
Chanting and singing in pikanii
Sometimes I would pick up on the words
Words I knew
And I would join her
And we sang to the little sliver of a moon
That came out and shared itself with us.
We were woken up by our horse
Who came over and started to lick our faces
Quite an interesting way to be woken
But it worked,
And before I knew it
Willow had some warm nettle tea
Ready for us to sip on
As we warmed our bodies
From the evening chills.
I walked over to the cold creek running close
And washed myself
Invigorating my life force at the same time
By the time I got back
Willow had had some roots she had gathered
Which she gave me and said: “Eat this,”
And some meat
We ate silently
I told her I loved her singing last night
She smiled and told me she was asking the gods
For a safe passage on our journey.
By the time I slung the blankets back onto the horse
Willow was ready to go
And we began walking West
Down the spine of the valley
And up the far side,
When we came to the peak
We looked out
And it took both of our breaths away from us.
What we saw was not the great plains Buffalo
But a massive herd of Elk
Grazing and minding their own
Very leisurely
We sat there at the peak
For quite a while
Snacking on leftover meat
From breakfast
Just watching the massive herd
It was pure delight to our eyes.
A lizard King
To be unite
A song I sang
Did not ignite
But last I heard
A whisper was
Your long wind
Yelling strong
We paddled and paddled
For one houndred days straight
Neither rest nor sleep
Was our friend all the while
We came about falls
We came about rapids
We came about bears
Finding winters warmth flapping
We passed by the furs
Of the coastal regions
We passed by the spruce
Of the swampier interiors
We passed by the pines
When the river twined
And we never complained
For our destination inclined
Not a single soul to speak
Not a diverting path to take
No energy was lost
In the battle we fought
We all had our children
Our warm wives back at home
But our socks they were warm when
Our backs they lay cold
Our knit caps, they
So red and so bold
We paddled until
Our paddles they broke
Then paddled some more
With the spares that we towed
And then, in the distance
As we pushed through the night
First one, then another
Then tens of houndreds they did burn
The fires of our friends
The fires of our family
The first of the First Nations
As they sat along the bank
Celebrating their season in the sun
The drums we had felt
Many days before
A pace threatening saunter
A force for our driving
As we came to the landing
We were swarmed by the tribe
We had always come here
We would always return
We were family here
We were friends here
This was our home
The land of the free
And after we shared
With the children all around
We welcomed the tribes men
We embraced our dear wives
We brought out our treasures
We had bargained for at the market
One houndred days paddling
One houndred days to the east
They sang songs for us
They sang songs with us
We brought out our fiddles
And we sang songs for them
We danced through the night
And we danced all the day
We hunted with the men
And we slept with the women
But then, when we saw
The leaves turning colours
We packed up our furs
And loaded our pelts
Carved out our paddles
And sorted our gear
Sad and long faces
As the morning progressed
We paddled on silently
Into one houndred days to the East
I played guitar all night long
I sang into your wires
I let loose the desire
Bottled like a wild bee
I held your reverb in my stomach
I croaked your intentions
I felt your sweet sustain
Like a sweet soul mother
..and I sang
..and I sang
