Reflection

I remember
Sitting in front of the fireplace
Consumed by medicine
Motionless
Lost in the moment
Between holiness and reality.

From the dirt swiveled between my moccasins
To the flying sparks of the fire
I remember
The songs,
How prayers were howled
And tears that were engulfed in the smoke.

Salvation
Was the primary force behind each shadow
That danced to the water drum
And
That chanted with the earth.

And it was my reflection I saw.

Dancing across the untamed skies
Intertwined with the crows
Disguised, swirling
Disappearing in the clouds
That rumbles
Rapidly like the buffalo.

I remember my reflection.
Against the canvas cover
Shielding all thoughts
From negativity
And closing my eyes
Unwilling
To accept the sacred.

I remember the morning water.
Glistening atop the teepee
Glittering within the thirsty fire.
Deliverance
Had me intertwined that morning
As I began singing, praying
Crying.

It was reality that brought to my attention
That you were no longer here
With us, against me
But your memory weighs heavily
On my turquoise, silver beliefs.

I remember.
Oh how I remember
A distant moon
Your alter.