Solitary Circle

... written for Summer Solstice

Solitary Circle

 

A candle is lit,

Letha is celebrated with

a small circle

and crafted fire.

As her sun rises,

a new amulet pouch

is passed over the flames;

sweet sage. Rosemary,

rowen and rue fill the air.

 

This is my first time

searching the old mysteries

written in an unknown language,

long ago lost in humanities haze,

of forgetting their connections

with cosmic magick.

 

In my time and place,

I do know the tales of Rabbit Boy,

the creation stories of Turtle

and Sky Woman,

the balance found in Big Mountain;

the songs from above and below

told to the People

a long time ago.

 

Worlds apart it seems,

these ancient songs, beliefs

of how we came into being-

The People.

Yet all flow from circles,

concentric,

overlapping, solitary,

continuous.

A human continuity.

 

In my time and place,

we held the Sun Dance,

where many came to celebrate,

find mates, cleanse the unbalances

we have done,

and to secure

for our People, better days.

 

As a young warrior

I wore my wolf head

and skins, danced around the fire,

and sang the songs.

Two plugs were cut into my chest,

Tied to a rope

and then lifted to the top

of the ceremonial pole

as I sang to the sun and moon.

I lasted two and a half days

before passing out, as each minute singing

meant blessings and forgiveness.

 

While facing the Sun, I had a vision

of a long ship, Raven sailed,

roaming vast waters.

It was filled with strange,

white faced warrior men

led by a fiercely beautiful warrior woman,

whose long sword guided the ship

under the night’s stars.

Strangely though she appeared

within my fire circle below,

and I thought I heard her say,

“I am looking for you.”

 

When I told this vision

to the Elders,

they smiled and said,

meet these strange People,

welcome them to our lands;

tell them our stories

and who we are.

But be careful of the woman warrior,

she has strong medicine

and many cosmic powers

and her beauty and bravery

may steal your heart.

 

So, I gathered my amulets,

stones and medicine pouch,

did a ceremonial sweat and spirit-walk,

then put my Wolf head and skins back on

and started my journey

to meet these People.

And find out the name of

The warrior woman.

 

“Solitary circles

pull, entice,

create the fabric of human life.”

This is the chant I sing

as I take my first steps,

guided by the call of the stars.

 

Aztec Warrior/redzone 6.30.17  

Author's Note

...thanks for reading...

Reviews

[barleygirl]

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This is an exceptional storytelling of the native ways & so many vivid details & interesting teachings. The Sun Dance is so weird & wicked seeming to me, I'd forgotten that, & your well-crafted visuals made me shudder involuntarily. You speak the Native lore as if you grew up with it . . . not a bit pretentious & not like you're telling someone else's story. Great job & nicely well-developed into a longer story-poem! (((HUGS)))

[Lydia Shutter]

A celestial beauty of a poem, Curt. You are such a good story teller. The Native American rituals are explained so well here. They will live on and always have meaning. They can teach us many lessons. Such a "nice" write. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

like an old and wise tale, about wise men who lived a long time ago...and really knew life how it should be...
not the myth it is today...
with a self proclaimed god running the country, which is no longer a country for old men.
j.