An Indian Trance

American Indian culture

An Indian Trance

Spherical drums caressed by skins of buffalo

Stretched to their limits large on hollowed wood

Beat out with thunder, the heartbeat of the Earth

Define the universe, the breath of God's creation

Strong men whisper while horses bow their heads

Winds take them away on freshly fallen snow

Peyote hallucinations die with Indian nations

Whittled down to nothing in the cold

Red Feather in his soft moccasins steps lightly

Dances the ancestral dance of sadness to the sand

Costumed and covered in plumage colored bright

Women and children cry out their song

In a trance about the glowing embers fired

Days gone, lives lost, on prairie and desert lands

Eagles climb high before they reach the heavens

Away from the red man, they fly off to find God

Before the weather worsens

A chant continues in the dark

For braves who lost their lives

Former warriors pray for warmth

A bottle of whiskey and remorse

An arrow pierces every heart

Reviews

[Cherrie Palmer]

Wonderful job this has a very authentic feel. It is engaging and leaves the reader hoping for more. I wrote a mini story similar to this, called the valley of bitter water's. I always enjoy seeing another writer's approach to a theme. Your poem is smooth and vision packed.