Appalachian Elegy
Page 3
heavy rain falls
wetness spreading
all over borders
refusing containment
flash flood warning
sirens call stay in
be still
guard your heart
let rain be
the only necessary movement
34.
fierce winter cold
mind whispers
a lost landscape
telling stories
of how it was then
seated near fire
drinking homemade spirits
sake and brandy wine
spirits bring contentment
for a time
carry us closer
to the sacred
moving through bitterness
our yearning to hold on
to moments of ecstasy
where we imagine
we hear clearly
destiny calling
35.
winds of fate
take the air
push it past the known
in this world of nature
no one can undo
mystery abounds
harsh cold burns skin
fire waits
raging tempests
sweep us
carry us toward
destiny recorded
written down
past present future
change comes
36.
mammoth caves
places alive
before the invention of hours
paleolithic hunters
painting the caves
of lascaux
horses shot with arrows
wild creatures
no longer seen
cave dwellers
searching for sacred paths
then sharing revelation
on these walls
connecting caves
crossing boundaries
of nation and time
bold remains
of untouched history
37.
stained black
Kentucky oak
plank fences
mark boundaries
ghost riders
where the dead live
on the edge of time
slaves worked here
long ago
caressing horse flesh
breathing shared dreams
cared for them
when witnessing
the breaking of yet
another animal spirit
born to be wild and free
a bond forged
whisper to forgotten souls
run run
go as fast as you can
run run
seek an end to bondage
38.
toward light
each bird flies
higher then higher
then swooping down
as though to plummet
as though air a net
to catch and comfort
who can fear
earth
who can fear
sky
when faced with
an infinite possibility
each moment given
a chance to soar
to enter beyond
39.
ritual places
a set offering
dead bird
on wooden slats
carry beauty still
stretched and moaned
as though
bearing its own cross
suffering those last moments
there are altars
in these hills
organic monuments
calling the sacred
rock on which to stand
and know divine presence
witness and testify
as birds of prey
fly high
opening wide wings
reaching past death
40.
on hallowed ground
I cast the circle
that there may be
haven for the lost
refuge and sanctuary
turning to the hills
I place feet on steady ground
letting earth hold me
in praise of air
I lift my hands
to the heavens
call down grace for blessings
for anointed being
turning toward water
I let go remembered sins
cleanse and purify
burning sage
I bring fire to warm
and illuminate
all around this body
light moves
a communion of gathered
spirits
41.
fierce unyielding winds
pressing pushing
against window glass
trees swaying
branches falling
chaos warning
of danger
she does not want
to cut them down
she does not want
to fear those mighty oaks
standing guard
for more years
than can be counted
strong roots sustaining life
holding back
the rush of time
let earth testify
they have the
right to fall
when life comes to an end
to move
in harmony with fate
42.
heavy heart
as fallen snow
bringing behind
wet damp darkness
small dreams
coming true
green coming
from seeds
planted long ago
draw from this
winter death
courage to go on
in the face of white cold
see past this
all-surrounding
whiteness
that beyond
there is hope
that sorrow ends
43.
when the dawn
is still almost dark
I rise restless
watch the
morning come
sly slow
movement into light
from shadow play
an unveiling
inside this dark heart
a yearning to live
as nature lives
surrendering all
44.
fly high
dreaming bird
higher and higher
on the wire of time
no road blocks
no stopping
to think through
why wings flap
what makes
the worthy soar
only this
pure heaven
right now
sky high
45.
barren broken hill
once a place of possibility
now only remnants
old glory gone
heritage sullied with hate
ancestors indigenous and dark
held captive
by soldiers and greed
by bloody conquest
battlefields where the dead live
unclaimed not mourned
histories buried forgotten
lost to a world of cover-ups
ghosts return to these hills
to grieve
cry out lamentations
mourning the desecration
of earthbound bodies
ghosts gather here
make promises
of resurrection and return
46.
overlooking water
I stand
at the top of the hill
looking out
see swans on the lake
grand plumage
more elegant than peacocks
their presence mysterious
all secrecy
how came they
to choose Appalachia
gracing us with their vision
as we climb down
to be close to such beauty
that it may
open our hearts
show us such love
as to offer
no turning back
47.
red beard
strut
strut
wild turkey
congregate
walk in peace
deciduous woodland
undercover
walk to mate
walk to feed
strut
strut
iridescent plumage
moving harem
doing a slow dance
strut
strut
48.
sunken faces
a collapsing gray
shutting down
still bodies
standing in doorways
sitting on
falling-down front porches
on crooked steps
cold now
bone upon bone
outsiders come
taking land
taking life
stripping removing destroying
mountains ravished
leaving in this corrupt wake
souls grieving
earth laments
cries out loud
that justice may come
that it is never too late
49.
with water
anoint the day
all this season
of drought kills
quiet slaughter
effortless
no need to love war
in this space
ongoing silence
absent wetness
call for surrender
for want and thirst
we are brought low
face to face
with essential need
a necessary yearning
we long for rain
for water
to pour into our hearts
an offering of radical grace
50.
all old souls
chant
be tender
walk soft
the bodies of our dead
lie here
wildflowers
red yellow white
adorn memory
pink purple blue
lost in a world of green
all have been
promised
wedded to morning
that will soon come
tears fallen and gone
only faint traces
of grief remain
sorrow lingers
making soil soul deep
our weeping ground
51.
in the gray blue wash of dawn
sacred secrets no longer hidden
make tapestries of repressed memories
soldiers lamenting
the tyranny of war unending
let earth renew
broken spirits
find precious
love once shared
that will not be forgotten
remembered confederates
fugitive desire
past wounds heal
bind broken hearts
give all to glory
beyond country flag nation
yearning for atonement
they bring light
come to early morning fresh
52.
renegades roam here
fugitive longing
darker than night
glorious black bodies
enslaved
with no hope of
belonging
to land
in this new world
of white freedom and flight
some live to die
sleep with no dreams
some find ways
to unravel mysteries
threads of power and domination
a palimpsest of greed
they hope
and hope
for change
find homeplace inside
letting anguish bleed out
make way for new life
53.
blackbirds
come rest home
let your dreaming
winged flying spirits pause
meditate
pause your deep soul be peace
for you can rest here
in this green
enchanted place
claim sanctuary
in these hills
made sacred
by native trust
small yet mighty
find your belonging
54.
burning body of love
no lead turning into gold
flesh only
turning into pain and ash
the bodies and being of old men
coal black skin
soft to touch
smooth as velvet
as kid gloves
they once danced
dreamed themselves
priests and poets all
now they sleep
under loam
rich and generous
as a full heart
55.
take the
hand-me-downs
make do
no culture of poverty
claiming lives here
we a people of plenty
back then
work hard
know no hunger
grow food
sew clothing
build shelter
moonshine still
wine from grape
we a marooned
mountain people
backwoods souls
we know to live on little
to make a simple life
away from manmade
laws and boundaries
spirit guides teach us
offer always
the promise
of an eternal now
56.
star of david
tree of life
double wedding band
a nine patch
such patterns
once shaped our destiny
pieces of cloth
marking a woman’s life
sewn together scraps
bits and pieces
tell us life stories
pieced by hand
remnants of passion
an unfulfilled desire
sisters coming together
making peace
offering comfort
ways to warm
to open hearts
57.
fierce grief shadows me
I hold to the memory
of ongoing loss
land stolen bodies shamed
everywhere the stench of
death and retribution
all around me
nature demands amends
spirit guides me
to take back the land
make amends
silence the cries of the lost
the lamentations
let them sleep forever sublime
knowing that we
have made a place
that can sustain us
a place of certainty
and sanctuary
58.
earth spirit
shout to raise
the living dead
each one
hear ancestors cry
mend the broken bones
wild damaged ones
earth spirit
know our wandering
our anguished offering
through time
earth spirit
reclaim soil soul se
ed
all the living green
help us surrender
that we may live again
59.
migrating birds
come rest here
teach us
all life follows
divine change
find pattern in structure
go true north
follow organic spirit
guided prophecy
hidden among growing things
that there may be hope
in these hills that there be renewal
that all living beings
may rise up
proclaiming pure delight
beauty that restores
beyond all manmade limitations
be welcomed
60.
wilderness within
wild woman
aging crone
wise hag
she who holds
mystery
stir the cauldron
tend the flames
bring life to fire
carry messages
from the future
a shroud of blackness
will cover the earth
sooted sorrow
so deep ash will fall like rain
heat rising
from unseen
burning
61.
lingering twilight
all-enveloping mist
that which is deep within us
rising
fugitive desire
in these lonesome hills
time loses meaning
fragments of past lives
hold hostage
the will to nurture growth
slaughter hope
against all sentient green
living beings
offering no escape
mountains dissolve
as earth slides into ruin
62.
harsh winter wind
again and again
soul deep snowfall
holding earth
shades of black and gray
among barren landscapes
the mind may know
a springtime of green coming
still in the present
the inescapable now
bitter cold buries secrets
put away
all promises of resurrection
63.
stark stolen sky
no birds in flight
in sight
no sign that lush
verdant life
lay abundant
here
war ravaged
our hills and mountains
burns flesh to ash
turns our water
against us
slaughters thirst