Saturday, September 8, 2012

Sky Woman's People



I stumbled across a prompt some days ago that stuck in my head: Tell a creation story. I actually wrote one, in prose, some years ago, during a staff training at the treatment center for First Nations families dealing with recovery issues, where I worked.  I may post that later. For now, my poem took me in a different direction.

The Iroquois speak 
of a world
that exists high above
the world we know,
where life is much
as it is on earth.

Sky Woman fell to earth
from the Sky World,
and the giant Turtle 
provided his back
for her to rest,
and this is how
we began.

There is a
Tree of Peace
that I visit.
Its name is Opa,
and it is as old
as all the trees of time.

When I rest my hands
on its rough trunk,
I feel its ancient heart,
beating,
and  understand
what Endurance
feels like,
my heart
slowing its beat
in compassion
for all that
it has witnessed,
all that it has weathered,
all the storms
and lashing winds,
the crack of lightning,
the hot summers of thirst,
the times when
the chain saws came near
with their blood-curdling sounds.

Sky Woman peopled
this world
with dreamers,
all of whom 
spend their days
gazing at the sky,
our cellular memory
vaguely recalling
the height from which
we have fallen.

We spend our lives
trying to
get it back.

* linked to dVerse Poetry Pub's open link, hosted by Brian Miller




23 comments:

  1. oh I love this one...felt so close to heart....the pic too is magnificent..its great Sherry...

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  2. I love this, too, Sherry. I miss the trees. I guess I'll just have to travel to the Island to visit you.
    Glad you're going to visit Stephanie in Victoria now, though.
    Luv, K

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  3. Beautiful! This story works for me!!

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  4. Nicely written, Sherry! Reminds us of our roots and the forebodings ahead! We've never had it so good!

    Hank

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  5. Hope there is an Oma too, to keep him company and make it even more romantic :-)
    Lovely looking tree. What is it?

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  6. So beautiful and reminds me of the reason I can feel so homesick even when I'm home. Your words are a bridge to the spirit...

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  7. Whoa..Sherry this is lovely...the wisdom and endurance..the fall and our struggle to get it back ~

    I like that Tree of Peace ~

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  8. I have to say ditto on all the other comments. The trees can talk to us as can anything in nature, if we care to be still for long enough and listen.
    Our chopping down huge forests in a matter of days which have taken hundreds of years to grow is really quite harrowing. I love the idea of us falling from a higher world and, trying to get back to it, yes, maybe that is why we don't always feel so at home and long for that bit 'more'
    Beautiful writing Sherry ;)

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  9. Sherry I really like this, I am a person that loves being outside just enjoying the beauty of nature. In my travels I have seen some of the untouched lands not yet scarred by the touch of man and be amazed then in turn shake my head in sadness at the flags and signs of change. Great read thanks for sharing.
    Tatius

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  10. I love this, Sherry. I feel the frustration Sky Woman must feel at how lost her people have become.

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  11. Thanks for writing. Strong truth resonates in it :-)

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  12. so beautiful ... love this dear Sherry ... Hope u r keeping perfect ... hugs.

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  13. Fantastic, I remember my days in boy scouts and some of the wonderful indian legends they would tell around the campfire, this reminds me of those days, thanks.

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  14. The cadence of words feel so authentic for a creation myth, so much so that I can't tell what part is pre-existing legend and what part springs from your own imagination.

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  15. This poem demonstrates that by using plain, direct language a poem can be just as effective in its impact as one that overloads metaphor and simile.

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  16. Shows the power of myth polishes up poetry

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  17. our cellular memory recalling the height from which we have fallen....wow...rings true....love the connection to nature...and that tree...a rather fascinating piece sherry....

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  18. Oh my goodness, Sherry, this is so beautiful. You grasped so much of creation, and are so creative yourself. I so much enjoyed reading this. And hope I remember that higher world, above us.

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