The Mandan blood, The Omaha heart

In My Tribe

indian chant
of blood i never knew i had

headdress full of impulse,
peyote put a hand to my forehead
and channel my spirit to its source

there is a song behind this raindance
whetting ebb tides of rivers waded,
barely forded and double crossed
by black clouds holding back

skin me deep and reveal
what have i done
to deserve all you have given

sky down sun
lighting me
from inside out

winter awaits
and so i go
into wood,
upon mountain,
before fire

quenched,
as you lay down beside
these fragile bones,
holding in your small hands
the calcified heart
i have carried from a desert
dry of dreams

to drums of
ritual awaiting,
beating conjugal

a jaguar loosed upon
a living sky

scars, stars
mapping a life upon this hide,
no longer hidden from the totem,
your love