River Music

Floating, eyes closed,
face to an unclouded sky,
held by the cool hands
of the Cheyenne River
in this elusive corner of Pine Ridge,
I forget – for a moment –
the uranium from inhuman mines
seeping
into each pore of my body
like late-afternoon sunlight into every window in town

The uranium I myself put here ...
by paying my taxes, by shopping for a bargain,
by reading the lies of American history textbooks,
by watching the propaganda of John Wayne
    on Sunday afternoons wrapped
    in a blanket the colors of the flag,
by thinking that wisdom is to be found in the books of dead men
    rather than in the song of the nighthawk
    or the poem of cottonwoods clacking in the breeze

I float, apart from myself,
allowing the river to carry me like a vapor,
my feet dragging through muck and over rocks;
weeds and small fish
brushing my legs in velvety greeting

The sun through these pale eyelids
becomes a field of sunflower;
the voices of the native children
downstream:
bees darting
among the golden heads nodding in the wind.

They transform this poison nectar into song.

And in my broken Lakota,
with my funny, city-bred accent,
I try to sing along:

    Wanbli gleshka waniyan nihiyouwe
    “A spotted eagle is coming for you”

When I stand and stagger to the shore,
dry off, and climb into my truck,
I hope that the toxins I have absorbed
will leave this river
some small part cleaner,

and will shine on my skin like a mirror.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I like this poem a lot. I'm Ojibwa/Mexican. I wish I could sing in Ojibwa. I like the poem. I like the quiet and the peace of the forest. I like how you took me in your words on a good walk. Even try to heal old Mother Nature. A outstanding poem. Thank you.
Coyote

[Lorianne Zeller]

"...the poem of cottonwoods clacking in the breeze "

i loved that image.
this is so well done. its difficult to write what is essentially a political statement and still have the writing be beautiful i think...maybe righteous anger gets in the way or something...i dunno. you have managed to carry the message without compromising the writing & thats great!