Almost Midnight

haunting hour…2 weeks and i’m
leaving the side
of my ancient parents
walking back to my
friends and sons and grands

there is a panic floating
into the house through
my window on Tripp Lake
dark is deep tonight

clawing thoughts of
abandonment creep up                                                                                                                                                                                                              my torso  memory tongs pull out                                                                                                                                                                                         slimy strings of
fears that grab me out of bed
so i run to Psalm 139

“Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

i rest my case
hear that beating heart
of God as my own heart
tha-thump tha-thump tha-thump
i sleep

What We Have Become

our children dress
their best and stand
in school lines while ancestors
ride on horses defending
all our broken dreams
and promises the land
so bought and sold
desecration so common place
we hardly notice dogs menacing
our children huge metal
jaws tearing up our
mother’s body guardians
our ancestors persecuted
and unnoticed till
their bodies too are ripped
by our common enemies
I reach into my jeans
find there common genes
and a few bucks to send
wishing i could stand
there in the west with my
indigenous sisters wondering
here in Maine what it is we have become.

https://www.gofundme.com/sacredstonecamp