Shards of Shale

Speak! Speak!
The elders tell me,
while they loom above
in my misted recognition
of days long gone by.

I tell them I cannot,
it hurts too much,
my mouth packed with
shards of shale as
I bleed my sacred blood.

Tell Us!
I try to speak my truth,
yet my tongue is bleeding
cut and soiled,
as I spew my festering blood aground.

Now I speak no more.